Millions, billions and percentages: The full story of Tamil Nadu’s commendable export performance

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has solidified its spot as one of the top states in merchandise export, sending goods valued at USD 58.9 billion in Financial Year 2026 and retaining the third rank among Indian exporting states – a position it has held for at least three years in a row.

The details were provided by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (July 21).

Rise in export share, surge in revenue

According to the data that the minister submitted, the State has made significant strides over the years, growing from 9.88 per cent of the total merchandise exports from India in FY 2024 and 11.84 per cent in FY 2025 to now account for 13.35 per cent.

The figures look even more impressive in absolute numbers: From USD 43,218.25 million (USD 1,000 million = USD 1 billion) in FY 24 to USD 51,825.18 million in FY 25, and now at USD 58,950.70 million in FY 26.

That is, the revenue that the State has earned from merchandise exports has grown by a whopping 36.40 per cent in just two years from FY 24.

Five key export sectors for Tamil Nadu

Of the total export earnings, USD 53,923.96 million came from just five sectors: engineering goods, electronics, textiles and allied products, automobiles, and leather.

Engineering goods is the largest component, accounting for USD 20,397 million, working out to 16.66 per cent of India's exports. The sector marked a healthy growth over the years since FY 2024 (USD 16,841.3 million, 15.41%), and FY 2025 (USD 18,200.3 million, 15.59%).

The second highest in revenue terms was electronics, with merchandise worth USD 19,966.7 million being exported across the world. This is a key sector for Tamil Nadu, as the State has a massive 41.63 per cent share in Indian electronics export. It was USD 9,562.56 million (32.84%) in FY 24 and USD 14,652.06 million (38%) in FY 25. In other words, electronics exports surged by more than double in just two years.

Textile and allied products came third in the list with USD 8,260.69 million in FY 2026. While the absolute number has fallen marginally from USD 8,285.99 million (a fall of USD 25.3 million), Tamil Nadu's share in India's export in the sector went up to 23.13% from 22.74%, implying that the textile export suffered a dip across the country, but the State managed to perform better than others. For the record, it was USD 7,362.8 million (21.38%) in FY 24.

Interestingly, the story was just the opposite in the export of motor vehicles. The annual export figure recorded a substantial jump to USD 3,701.14 million in FY 26 from USD 3,146.92 million a year ago – a rise of 17.61 per cent. However, absolute numbers do not give the full picture. Tamil Nadu's share of auto exports fell to 33.38 per cent from 34.95 per cent. This is a continuing story: Tamil Nadu's share was 36.68 per cent (USD 3,028.12 million) in FY 24.

This indicates that auto sector exports have surged across the country, with other states performing better than Tamil Nadu – even if not by a large margin.

In the leather sector, Tamil Nadu recorded a fall in both absolute numbers and share in exports, the same trend that has been reported in FY 25 and now in FY 26. It was USD 1,666.53 million (37.3%) in FY 24, which fell to USD 1,636.97 million (35.76%) in FY 25, and now USD 1,598.03 million (35.59%) in FY 26.