Exports Grow 10 Percent in January 2012
Friday, 10 February 2012, 16:35 IST
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New Delhi: India's export growth rate recorded a marginal increase in January over the previous month with the overseas shipments expanding by 10.1 percent year-on-year to $25.4 billion despite weak demand in the western markets. Pushed by expensive crude oil and vegetable oil, imports grew at a faster rate of 20.3 percent to $40.1 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $14.7 billion, Rahul Khullar, Commerce Secretary, told reporters while giving provisional figures. The shipments had grown by 6.7 percent year-on-year in December 2011. According to Khullar, the problems in the U.S. and Europe are clearly weighing down on the country's exports. From a peak of 82 percent in July 2011, export growth has slipped to 44.25 percent in August 2011, 36.36 percent in September 2011 and 10.8 percent in October last year. But, for the cumulative April-January period, exports aggregated to $242.8 billion showing a healthy growth of 23.5 percent, thanks to sterling trend witnessed in the previous months of the current fiscal. "Exports for the fiscal of around $300 billion, imports at about $460 billion with a balance of trade of about $160 billion," he said. Steady rise of 29.4 percent in imports for the 10 month period to $391.5 billion has left trade gap widening to $148.7 billion. "Imports are still buoyant because of high prices of crude oil and vegetable oil. Trade deficit is large but my guess is that it will narrow down in the next two months," he added. He also said that 2012-13 would be difficult year for exporters. Exporting sectors which registered healthy growth in April-January include engineering and petroleum.
Source: PTI
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