Exports growth in double digit in April-May: Official

The country’s exports have recorded a double-digit growth during April-May 2026-27, a senior Government official said on Monday.

The Commerce Ministry will release the trade data for May on June 15.

“During the two months, exports are in double-digit growth,” the official said.

Exports rose by 13.78 per cent to $43.56 billion in April, the highest monthly outbound shipments in more than four years, driven by petroleum products amid a surge in crude oil prices, but the trade deficit widened to a three-month high of $28.38 billion due to an uptick in imports.

The official also said that the commerce ministry will be hiring 1,000 people from across the country to disseminate information about free trade agreements being finalised by India.

“We need people from different languages,” the official said, adding paperwork is underway for the hiring process.

India has implemented FTAs with the UAE, Oman, Australia, the EFTA bloc and Mauritius. It has also finalised these pacts with the UK, New Zealand and the EU.

The impressive show by Maruti Suzuki could be due to the impending price hike by up to Rs 30,000 announced by the automaker from June 2026.

Outlining the correlation between the fuel price hike and demand for cars, as it increases the total cost of ownership, Banerjee said, “If the fuel prices keep going up, it will surely have an impact on the auto industry.”

He said bookings of the company’s all-electric e-VITARA have doubled to over 4,000 units after the petrol price hikes.  Similarly, CNG vehicle bookings have also gone up by 1.4 times, Banerjee added.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles sales in the domestic market stood at 59,090 units last month as against 41,557 units in the year-ago period, a growth of 42 per cent, a regulatory filing by the company showed.

Meanwhile, homegrown player Mahindra & Mahindra sold 58,021 units in the domestic market, up 11 per cent from the year-ago period.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) reported a 9.1 per cent year-on-year increase in domestic sales at 47,837 units in May 2026.

HMIL MD & CEO Tarun Garg said the company has continued its strong momentum of the year into May as well. Kia India reported a 23.6 per cent YoY growth in wholesales at 27,586 units in May 2026, compared to 22,315 units in May 2025.

It was the “highest-ever sales in May” since market entry, Kia India said in a statement.

“Our highest-ever May sales performance reflects the strong alignment of our product portfolio with evolving customer preferences across segments,” Kia India Senior Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Atul Sood said.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s domestic sales stood at 30,574 units in the reported month against 29,280 units in the same month a year ago, registering a four per cent YoY growth, the company stated.

JSW MG Motor India on Monday reported sales of 6,048 units in May 2026. The company, however, did not provide comparable year-on-year figures.