Exports grew 36% in dollar terms in April to $16,887 million from a year ago and imports surged 43% in the same period to $27,307 million, the commerce and industry ministry said on Monday. Exports contracted for 13 straight months starting October 2008, before turning positive in November ’09. Total exports were $12,397 million a year ago while imports in the same period stood at $19,052 million, the ministry stated.
In rupee terms, total exports surged only 21% and imports 27% as the domestic currency appreciated more than the dollar. Exports account for about 20% of the country’s trillion-dollar-plus GDP.
The ministry said the trade deficit in the month under review was $10420 million, up from $ 6654 a year ago. In rupee terms, the gap was Rs 46,370 crore, as against the Rs 33,313 crore in the same month last year. However, going forward the European debt crisis may weigh on outbound shipments, even though India’s trade exposure to Greece is limited, rating agency Crisil principal economist D K Joshi said.
“It all (export performance) depends how the European crisis unfolds,” he said.
President of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) A Sakthivel said the Greek crisis would only have a minimal impact on exports. “Our big buyers are Germany, Italy and France,” he said. European Union generally accounts for about 20% of India’s exports.
Experts, however, said the recovery in exports should be viewed in the backdrop of the dismal performance last year.