Exports plunge 9.3% to $34.71 bn in August

New Delhi, Sep 17: India's exports registered a steepest decline in 13-month falling 9.3 per cent in August to USD 34.71 billion due to global economic uncertainties, while the trade deficit soared to a 10-month of USD 29.65 billion.

According to the government data released on Tuesday, imports increased by 3.3 per cent to USD 64.36 billion, which is a record high, due to a significant jump in the inbound shipments of gold and silver.

While gold imports more than doubled to USD 10.06 billion in August from USD 4.93 billion in the same month last year, silver imports swelled to USD 727 million in the month under review from USD 159 million in August 2023.

Due to a decline in petroleum prices, crude oil imports dipped by 32.38 per cent to USD 11 billion. The dip in prices has also impacted the merchandise exports.

The trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, in October 2023 was USD 30.43 billion. The merchandise exports in July last year contracted by over 10 per cent.

India's merchandise exports dipped by 1.5 per cent in July.

Exports during April-August this fiscal increased 1.14 per cent to USD 178.68 billion, and imports grew 7 per cent to USD 295.32 billion.

Merchandise trade deficit during April-August 2024 was USD 116.64 billion compared to USD 99.16 billion during April-August 2023.

Briefing the media on data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that in the current global situation, exports is a huge challenge.

Reasons like slowdown in China and continued recession in the EU and the US too are impacting the exports; dipping oil prices and rise in transportation cost due to the Read Sea crisis are hurting the shipments.

"There are a lot of challenges in trade," Barthwal told reporters here.

However, he added that despite these issues India's exports during the first five months of this fiscal have registered a positive growth.

Exports of petroleum products declined by 37.56 per cent to USD 5.95 billion during the month.

To further push the shipments of goods, the commerce ministry is focusing on exploring new markets in regions like Africa.

Besides, he said, 12 champion services sectors have been identified such as education, health care, shipping, and transportation, to push their shipments as they hold huge opportunities.

"We are focusing on these sectors. If we have to reach the USD 2 trillion exports target of goods and services, 50 per cent will be coming from the services sector," he said, adding that these sectors are not impacted by global issues.