Wholesale trade & distribution.

Wholesale trade is the thin margin the economy earns on every rupee of goods sold at least once between factory, farm or importer and the final buyer — mandis, stockists, distributors, importers, cash-and-carry and B2B platforms feeding 13 million retail outlets and industry. It adds an estimated ₹10.0 lakh crore of GVA in FY26 (3.2% of national GVA) on some ₹250 lakh crore of goods throughput, a roughly 4% margin, and is about three-quarters informal (proprietorships and partnerships). Growth tracks nominal goods output (manufacturing, agriculture, imports) rather than consumption, and is forecast to compound at 10.6–10.7% a year to ₹15.0 lakh crore by FY30 and ₹24.8 lakh crore by FY35 while its margin keeps compressing as manufacturers shorten distribution chains and large retailers integrate backwards. The listed 'Trading' sector is a poor proxy for the industry: its ₹8.0 lakh crore of market value and ₹0.18 lakh crore of PAT are dominated by Adani Enterprises' non-trading businesses, so the true listed wholesale exposure is only about 5% of industry GVA.

Goods throughput

~250 ₹ LC · FY26

Employment

~14 mn (2.3% of workers) · FY26

GVA per worker

7.1 ₹ lakh · FY26

Formal share of GVA

~25 % · FY26

Listed 'Trading' sector market cap

8.0 ₹ LC · Jul-2026

Listed 'Trading' sector PAT

17,933 ₹ cr (4.3% margin) · FY26

Listed 'Trading' sector revenue

4.1 ₹ LC · FY26

Listed 'Trading' sector P/E

44 x earnings · FY26