Beating exports target on horizon

Exports Basket

- Mainly engg, petroleum, gems and jewellery sectors in focus

- Imports grew by 23.54% to $51.93 bn in Jan

- Trade deficit in Jan at $17.43 bn

- Crude oil imports rose 26.9% to $11.96 bn

- Total exports up 46.73% to $335.88 bn in Apr-Jan

New Delhi: India's exports in January rose 25.28 per cent to $34.50 billion on account of healthy performance by mainly engineering, petroleum and gems and jewellery sectors, even as trade deficit widened to $17.43 billion, according to data released by the Union Commerce Ministry on Tuesday.

Imports grew by 23.54 per cent to $51.93 billion during the month under review. Trade deficit, difference between imports and exports, stood at $14.499 in January 2021. Cumulatively, exports increased by 46.73 per cent to $335.88 billion during April 2021-January 2022, from $$228.92 billion in the corresponding period a year ago. Imports during the April-January period expanded by 62.65 per cent to $495.75 billion. Trade deficit stood at $159.87 billion during the ten-month period as against $75.87 billion in the same period a year earlier. According to the data, gold imports in January 2022 dipped by 40.52 per cent to $2.4 billion.

Crude oil imports rose by 26.9 per cent to $11.96 billion in January. Exports of engineering, petroleum and gems and jewellery in January 2022 increased by 24.11 per cent, 95.23 per cent and 13.64 per cent to $9.2 billion, $4.17 billion and $3.23 billion, respectively. Pharmaceuticals exports, however, dipped by 1.15 per cent to $2.05 billion in January.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Vice President Khalid Khan said that going by the current rate of growth, India will exceed $400 billion exports target for this fiscal. FIEO President A Sakthivel, however, said that imports clocking $51.93 billion during the month with a growth of 23.54 per cent, is a point of 'concern and should be analysed'.

The data also showed that the estimated value of service export for January stood at $26.91 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 54.95 per cent over the same month last year. Imports rose by 60.32 per cent to $15.83 billion. "The estimated value of services export for April-January 2021-22 is $209.83 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 25.31 per cent vis-a-vis April-January 2020-21 ($167.45 billion) imports for April-January 2021-22 is $121.16 billion exhibiting a positive growth of 27.69 per cent vis-à-vis April-January 2020-21 ($94.88 billion)," it said.