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Exports jump 22.63% to USD 33.8 bn in Sept; trade deficit hits record $22.59 bn

Exports jump 22.63% to USD 33.8 bn in Sept

Trade

Exports jump 22.63% to USD 33.8 bn in Sept; trade deficit hits record $22.59 bn

India’s merchandise exports rose by 22.63 per cent year-on-year to USD 33.79 billion in September on better performance by key sectors while the trade deficit hit a record high of USD 22.59 billion as imports of crude oil and gold spiked.



Official data released on Thursday showed that merchandise imports were worth USD 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 USD 22.59 billion due to a significant jump in gold and oil imports. Previously, the trade gap was at a record high of USD 20.2 billion in October 2012.


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The balance of trade for the first time touched USD 22.59 billion in a month, a DGFT official said.

Gold imports during September zoomed to USD 5.11 billion as against USD USD 601 million during the same period last year. During April-September 2021, imports of the yellow metal stood at about USD 24 billion as against USD 6.8 billion in the same period last year.

Crude oil imports in September were USD 17.44 billion compared to USD 5.83 billion in September 2020. During April-September 2021, imports stood at USD 72.99 billion as against USD 32.01 billion in the same period last year.

Similarly, coal, coke and briquettes imports during september stood at USD 2.18 billion as against USD 1.19 billion.

During the first half of this fiscal, these imports aggregated at USD 11.93 billion as compared to USD 6.7 billion in the same period last year.

During April-September 2021, imports stood at USD 72.99 billion as against USD 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.


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Cumulatively, exports rose by 57.53 per cent to USD 197.89 billion during April-September 2021, as against USD 125.62 billion during in the year-ago period.

Imports during the period rose by 81.67 per cent to USD 276 billion as against USD 151.94 billion during April-September 2020.

The trade deficit during the first six months of the fiscal widened to USD 78.13 billion as against USD 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 USD 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 specially 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 widening of trade gap is definitely a matter of concern.


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