India's merchandise exports rose by 22.63 per cent year-on-year to $33.79 billion in September on better performance by key sectors while the trade deficit hit a record high of $22.59 billion as imports of crude oil and gold spiked.
Official data released on Thursday showed that merchandise imports were worth $56.39 billion in September, a sharp increase of 84.77 per cent compared to the year-ago period.
The trade deficit in September widened to an all-time monthly high of $22.59 billion due to a significant jump in gold and oil imports. Previously, the trade gap was at a record high of $20.2 billion in October 2012.
The balance of trade for the first time touched $22.59 billion in a month, a DGFT official said.
Gold imports during September zoomed to $5.11 billion as against $601 million during the same period last year. During April-September 2021, imports of the yellow metal stood at about $24 billion as against $6.8 billion in the same period last year.
Crude oil imports in September were $17.44 billion compared to $5.83 billion in September 2020. During April-September 2021, imports stood at $72.99 billion as against $32.01 billion in the same period last year.
Similarly, coal, coke and briquettes imports during September stood at $2.18 billion as against $1.19 billion.
During the first half of this fiscal, these imports aggregated at $11.93 billion as compared to $6.7 billion in the same period last year.
During April-September 2021, imports stood at $72.99 billion as against $32.01 billion in the same period last year.
Export sectors that recorded positive growth during September include coffee, cashew, petroleum products, handloom, engineering, chemicals, man-made yarn/fabrics, gems and jewellery, plastic and marine products.
Cumulatively, exports rose by 57.53 per cent to $197.89 billion during April-September 2021, as against $125.62 billion during in the year-ago period.
Imports during the period rose by 81.67 per cent to $276 billion as against $151.94 billion during April-September 2020.
The trade deficit during the first six months of the fiscal widened to $78.13 billion as against $26.31 billion during April-September 2020.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Vice-Chairman Khalid Khan said that going by the trend India will hit $400 billion exports by the end of the fiscal. "But we should be a little cautious about the trade deficit," Khan said.
FIEO President A Sakthivel said that recovery in the global economies across the world and expectations of buoyant order booking position for the coming months especially during the festive season has also led to such continuous growth in exports.
Technocraft Industries India founder-chairman Sharad Kumar Saraf said increasing exports are a healthy sign for the economy but the widening of trade gap is definitely a matter of concern.
