India's BRICS trade surges to $416 billion, but widening deficit raises policy imperative ahead of 2026 Summit

New Delhi: India's trade engagement with BRICS nations has grown strongly over the past five years, but the widening trade deficit poses a key policy challenge as New Delhi prepares to host the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Thursday and Friday. According to a report by Rubix Data Sciences, India's bilateral trade with the other 10 BRICS countries touched $416 billion in CY2025, registering a nearly 10% CAGR between CY2021 and CY2025. However, the goods trade deficit with the bloc has almost doubled, rising from $117 billion in CY2021 to $224 billion in CY2025.

Looking ahead, India's role within the expanded 11-nation grouping will be shaped by its ability to balance growing import dependencies with efforts to boost outbound shipments and diversify supply chains. With BRICS now representing 49.5% of the global population, 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade, the bloc's influence on India's trade dynamics is set to increase further under the chairship theme of "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."



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The data underscores India's rising import reliance on BRICS economies. Cumulative imports from BRICS stood at $320 billion in CY2025, up at a 12% CAGR since CY2021, pushing the bloc's share in India's total imports from 36% to 43%. Russia has emerged as a key source, with imports growing at a 61% CAGR, largely driven by crude oil. The UAE and Brazil also remain major partners, each recording 12% CAGR over the period.

On the export side, growth has been more modest. India's cumulative exports to BRICS stood at $96 billion in CY2025, rising at just 3% CAGR between CY2021 and CY2025. The bloc accounted for about 22% of India's total exports, with the UAE (11%), Russia (8%) and Egypt (5%) showing the fastest growth.

The imbalance is stark at the country level. In CY2025, India ran a trade deficit with five BRICS members China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Indonesia while maintaining a near-balanced trade with Brazil and South Africa. China alone accounted for a deficit exceeding $100 billion, followed by Russia at $55 billion.

Globally, BRICS nations are net exporters, with cumulative exports at $6.1 trillion and imports at $4.9 trillion in CY2025, reflecting their strong production capacities. The bloc's share of global exports has held steady at around 25% and imports at 20% between CY2021 and CY2025, while total trade remained largely flat at $10.9 trillion with a 1% CAGR.

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As India hosts the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting this month, the focus will be on reforms to global governance and the multilateral system under the "BRICS@20" agenda. For India, the forward path lies in leveraging the grouping to secure more balanced trade terms, strengthen energy and supply chain cooperation, and push for a more inclusive global economic order while narrowing the widening deficit with key partners.