India Exports More To The US Than It Imports

Closer economic ties are on the agenda as Prime Minister Narendra D Modi makes his first State visit to the US.

There is more money coming into India to fund new factories and set up ventures through foreign direct investment than before.

The average annual US FDI flows in the five years leading up to 2018-2019 was $2.7 billion.

This has increased to $8.7 billion in the four years since then.

A similar outward flow into the US shows up in the overseas direct investment data.

This also includes debts, such as loans. The capital outflows averaged $1.7 billion in the five years leading up to 2018-2019.

This has increased to an average of $3.2 billion since 2019-2020. The US also tops in terms of foreign portfolio flows.

This is money that US mutual funds and other entities invest by buying Indian securities, such as shares on the stock market.

The US is the largest FPI investor in India, accounting for around Rs 38 of every Rs 100 worth of FPI holdings (chart 2).

India also exports more to the US than it imports. The exports in 2022-2023 was $79 billion, compared to imports of $50 billion.

Imports have risen a little faster than exports in the past five years.

Imports rose 89 per cent since 2017-2018 while exports were up 64 per cent.

India's imports from the US are largely made up of a few categories, including crude, petroleum products, coal and others.

The top five accounted for around 49 per cent of imports in 2022-2023.

The export basket was similar. Pharmaceutical products and readymade cotton garments and accessories were among the major exports.

The top five exports accounted for 36 per cent of the total exports.