4 min readMay 16, 2026 02:09 AM IST
First published on: May 15, 2026 at 08:12 PM IST
Two days after the government raised the import duty on gold, silver, and platinum to cool the pressure on the rupee amid the ongoing war in West Asia, data from the commerce ministry on Friday showed that gold imports jumped 82% year-on-year to $5.63 billion in April, with the overall merchandise trade deficit rising to a three-month high of $28.38 billion.
Silver imports more than doubled to $411 million in April compared to the same month last year. The vegetable oil import bill, meanwhile, surged 40% to $1.72 billion. The impact of the war in terms of supplies and prices was also visible in the import of petroleum, crude, and products, which were down 10% year-on-year at $18.63 billion – but 53% higher compared to March.
While merchandise exports increased by 13.8% to $43.56 billion – outbound shipments of petroleum products soared 35% to $9.59 billion – imports rose by 10% to $71.94 billion.
With the rupee under intense pressure since the war in West Asia began in late February – it has tumbled 5.2% against the US dollar since then – the government has been taking austerity measures to ease the strain on the use of foreign currency and reduce fuel consumption. In addition to a hike in the import duty on precious metals, oil marketing companies on Friday increased the pump price of petrol and diesel for the first time in four years.
Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal told reporters on Friday that the government has not planned any further “policy measures to discourage any imports in the country”.
“But there has been a clarion call by the Honourable Prime Minister to discourage non-essential consumption. So, if there is a citizen move to consume less of non-essential consumption, it will translate… But as far as policy is concerned, we are not putting a curb on imports as such right now,” Agrawal said.
Over the weekend and again on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the public to change their consumption behaviour by reviving Covid-era measures such as work-from-home and virtual meetings, avoiding non-essential foreign travel and gold purchases for a year, and prioritising local goods, among others. These actions would help save the country’s foreign exchange reserves as most of these activities and purchases require import.
In 2025-26, India imported a record $71.98 billion of gold, up 24% from the previous year. More than 9% of India’s import bill last year was due to gold, with another 1.6% being on account of silver. Commenting on the impact of the gold and silver import duty hike, the Commerce Secretary said on Friday there would “definitely be some impact”, although it may be lower in the case of silver on account of it being an industrial input.
While exports, on the whole, recorded robust growth in April, trade with the West Asia region continued to take a huge hit, shrinking for the second consecutive month due to the disruptions caused by the war and the closure of the key waterway of the Strait of Hormuz. Exports to the region fell 28% year-on-year to $4.16 billion in April, with imports slumping 32% to $10.47 billion.
On the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) front, Agrawal said efforts were on to find a “creative solution” around the UK’s decision in March to lower reduce the tariff-free quota for imported steel and impose higher duties on imports beyond that limit. On the deal with the US, the secretary said the American delegation is expected to soon visit India following the Indian team’s visit to Washington, DC last month and continue discussions.
In 2025-26, India imported a record $71.98 billion of gold, up 24% from the previous year. (Reuters Photo) 
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