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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
NEW DELHI, April 16 (Reuters) - India recorded a trade deficit of $99.2 billion with China in the 2024/25 fiscal year that ended in March, trade data showed, driven by a surge in imports of electronics goods and consumer durables.
The data comes as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause last week on most tariff hikes for major trading partners including India, while sharply increasing levies on Chinese goods, stoking fears that Chinese firms may divert goods to other markets.
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In March alone, goods imports from China jumped over 25% year-on-year to $9.7 billion, led by electronics, electric batteries and solar cells. Total imports from China rose to $113.5 billion in 12-months through March, according to detailed trade data released by commerce ministry on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, India's exports to China fell 14.5% to $1.5 billion in March from a year earlier, with total exports dropping to $14.3 billion in the 12-months period, data showed.
"This is a wake-up call for India, as the rising imports reflect deeper structural dependencies of the Indian economy," said Ajay Srivastava, founder of Global Trade Initiative, a Delhi-based trade policy think tank.
India's rising exports of electronics goods, pharmaceuticals and engineering goods are also fuelling imports from Chinese, due to their heavy dependence on imported components, he said.
India's exports to China are now lower than in 2013/14, despite a significantly stronger rupee back then, Srivastava said, and warned that imports could rise by about 20% in the current fiscal year as Chinese firms are re-routing exports to several markets, for exports to the U.S.
China emerged as India's second biggest trading partner in 2024/25, with two-way trade of $127.7 billion, after the United States, the data showed.
The government plans to set up a monitoring unit to track a surge in cheaper imports from countries like China, and warned firms against helping foreign exporters bypass U.S. tariffs, officials said on Tuesday.
