India Exports On The Rise In June, Trade Gap Persists At $8 Billion

In June, India's exports grew by 5.4%. This includes both goods and services. Goods exports went up by 2.55% and services exports increased by nearly 9%. From April to June, the total exports grew by 8.6%, showing good progress in India's export activities, writes ETV Bharat's Krishnanand.

New Delhi:India’s total exports, merchandise as well as services export, recorded a growth of 5.4 per cent in June this year. The merchandise export registered a positive growth of 2.55 per cent in June while services export registered a growth of nearly nine per cent. Overall exports during the first quarter of this financial year (April-June) registered a healthy growth of 8.6 per cent.

As per the latest official data released on Monday, the merchandise export has been estimated at $35.2 billion in June as compared to $34.32 billion in June last year. The overall export of merchandise goods and services export during the quarter has been estimated at $109.96 billion as against $ 103.89 billion during the same period last year, an increase of 5.84 per cent.

What is driving growth in merchandise export?

As per the data, India’s non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports registered an increase of 8.48 per cent as it rose from $25.29 billion in June last year to $27.43 billion in June this year.

The data showed that growth in merchandise export is primarily driven by engineering goods, electronic goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals, coffee, organic and inorganic chemicals. While the export of engineering goods increased by 10.27 per cent, from $8.52 billion in June last year to $9.39 billion in June this year, the export of electronic goods surged by nearly 17 per cent, from $2.42 billion in June last year to $2.82 billion in June this year. Similarly, exports of drugs and pharmaceuticals increased by 9.93 per cent, from $2.25 billion in June last year to $2.47 billion in June this year. In June this year, the export of coffee from India jumped by 70 per cent, from $ 120 million to 200 million. India’s export of organic and inorganic chemicals also registered an increase of 3.32 per cent, from $2.22 billion in June last year to $2.29 billion in June this year.

The trade gap persists as imports grow faster

Despite positive growth in trade in June this year and overall positive growth in the April-June period, the trade deficit persists both in June and also in the quarter as well due to faster growth in the country’s import bill. For example, the trade gap or the deficit between imports and exports in June last year was $7 billion, which has increased to $8 billion in June this year.

Similarly, the overall trade deficit in the April-June period this year has been estimated at $22.56 billion as the country’s cumulative import of services and merchandise goods has been estimated at $222.89 billion as against the cumulative merchandise and services export which was $200.33 billion during this period.

Major commodities imported by India are petroleum and crude products; coal, coke and briquettes; organic and inorganic chemicals; machinery, electrical and non-electrical; transport equipment; iron and steel; non-ferrous metals and vegetable oil among others.

India’s pulse import registered the biggest growth in June this year as it jumped by 69 per cent on a year-on-year basis while the quarterly growth in pulses imports in the April-June quarter this year over the same period last year has been recorded at 130 per cent.