Exports dip 6.58% in Jan; trade deficit lowest in a year
India’s exports dipped by 6.58% to $32.91 bn in Jan, while imports too contracted by 3.63% to $50.66 bn; Trade deficit touched a 12-month low of $17.75 bn;
image for illustrative purpose
Global Headwinds
- Petroleum products, electronic goods, rice in positive zone
- Engineering goods, iron ore, dip in 10-mth period of FY23
- India’s exports contracted by 12.2% to $34.48 bn last Dec
New Delhi: Contracting for the second month in a row, India's exports dipped by 6.58 per cent to $32.91 billion in January due to slowdown in global demand, even as the trade deficit touched a 12-month low of $17.75 billion during the month, according to official data released on Wednesday. Imports in January too contracted by 3.63 per cent, the second consecutive month, to $50.66 billion.
Cumulatively, however, during April-January 2022-23, the country's merchandise exports rose 8.51 per cent to $369.25 billion, while imports increased 21.89 per cent to $602.20 billion, the data showed. The merchandise trade deficit for the April-January this fiscal stood at about $233 billion. The country's exports had contracted by 12.2 per cent to $34.48 billion in December 2022. Last time, it was in January 2022, when the trade deficit touched $17.42 billion.
Export sectors that recorded negative growth during the 10-months period of this fiscal include engineering goods, iron ore, plastic and linoleum, gems and jewellery. Engineering exports dipped by 3.37 per cent to $88.27 billion during April-January 2022-23. In the same period, gems and jewellery shipments declined by 0.54 per cent to $31.61 billion. Sectors which recorded positive growth include petroleum products, electronic goods, rice, ready-made garments of textiles and chemicals.
