February exports grow 22.3% Y-o-Y as global orders remain strong

Owing to strong global orders, India's merchandise exports rose by 22.36 percent in February this year as compared to February 2021. Impressively, exports also rose by more than 21.8 percent as compared to two years back or February 2020, just before the pandemic struck.

Data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on March 2 showed outbound trade rose to $33.8 billion in February, up from $27.63 billion in February 2020. However, export growth in the latest month came down from the 38.9 percent rise seen in December 2021, and 23.7 percent in January 2022.

Cumulatively, exports grew by 45.8 percent in the April-February period of FY22 (2021-22) as compared to the same period of 2020, to register total exports worth $374 billion. In 2019-20, only the last two months of which had an economic downturn owing to the COVID pandemic, the cumulative exports over the corresponding period was $256.5 billion, the ministry said.

After a difficult FY21 (2020-21) marked by lockdowns and restrictions, exports had begun rising at the end of the financial year. In the current financial year, exports have risen every month till February.

Imports in February rose by 35 percent to $55 billion. As a result, cumulative imports in the first 11 months of FY22 stood at $550.1 billion. This was 59 percent higher than the $345 billion worth of imports registered in the same period of FY21.