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India's exports to key free trade agreement (FTA) partner countries witnessed strong growth in the first quarter of 2026-27, with outbound shipments to Singapore and Sri Lanka more than doubling, according to the commerce ministry data.

 

India has so far signed 17 FTAs with a number of countries and groups, including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Mauritius, the UAE, Australia, the European Union, Asean and the EFTA bloc. Out of this, 16 are operational.

 

The data showed that exports to Singapore surged 101.2 per cent to $6.52 billion during April-June 2026, from $3.24 billion in the year-ago period, while shipments to Sri Lanka rose 123.8 per cent to $2.35 billion from $1.05 billion.

 

The shipments to the Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) region grew 61.6 per cent to $14.61 billion in the first quarter of this fiscal, from $9.04 billion in April-June 2025-26. Exports to the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) region rose 36.6 per cent to $8.40 billion from $6.15 billion.

 

Among individual countries, Malaysia recorded a 75.2 per cent increase in the outbound shipments to $2.54 billion, while shipments to Australia grew 25.2 per cent to $2.68 billion during April-June 2026-27.

 

Exports to the UK rose 11.1 per cent to $3.69 billion during the quarter from $3.32 billion in the year-ago period. The India-UK trade agreement was operationalised from July 15, 2026.

 

Shipments to South Korea rose by 22.6 per cent to $1.95 billion, while to Japan, they grew 22.4 per cent to $1.75 billion.

 

India’s exports to Oman grew 26.4 per cent to $1.39 billion, while shipments to Nepal rose 18.1 per cent to $2.28 billion.

 

Exports to Bhutan and Thailand increased 16.1 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, to $360 million and $1.23 billion during the period.

 

The data indicates that across key FTA partner countries, India's exports are growing robustly, an official said. The sharp increase in the shipments contributed significantly to the overall momentum in exports during the quarter. During April-June this fiscal, the country's total exports increased 15.92 per cent to $129.32 billion.