A surprise jump in shipments to the US despite high tariffs pulled India’s merchandise exports to a three month high of $ 38.13 billion in November, a growth of 19.37% on year. The growth wasthe highest in three years and coupled with a 1.88% decline in imports to $ 62.66 billion which brought down the trade deficit to a five month low of $ 24.53 billion.
After contracting for the two straight months after the imposition of additional duties in August, the exports to the US grew 22% year-on-year to touch $ 6.98 billion. Other geographies that contributed to the November performance was China where the exports were up 90% to $ 2.20 billion.
In April-November exports to the US have grown 11.38% on year to $ 59.04 billion while to China the growth has been 32.83% to $ 12.22 billion. Growth was also witnessed in markets of Spain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Tanzania.
What drove the decline in imports in November?
The decline in imports in November was due to sharp fall in gold imports both year-on-year and month-on-month. Gold imports were down 59.15% on year in November to $ 4.0 billion. Another commodity that saw fall in imports was crude oil where the decline was 11.27 % on year to $ 14.11 billion.
The November trade performance has offset the losses on the goods trade front in October, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal told reporters. In October exports had declined 11.80%, imports were up 16.68% and the trade deficit was $ 41.68 billion, a record.
Only five out of the 30 broad commodity groups saw a decline in exports in November.
The sectors driving exports during the month were engineering, electronics, petroleum, pharma, chemicals and gems and jewellery. Engineering exports that account for more than a quarter of total shipments were back to growth after contraction in October, recording an expansion of 23.76% to $ 11.0 billion.
Electronics exports
Electronics exports grew 38.96% to $ 4.81 billion, petroleum exports were up 11.6% to $ 3.93 billion. Gems and Jewellery that have seen a decline during most of the months of the financial year, grew 27.80 % to $ 2.64 billion. Pharma exports were up 20.91% to $ 2.6 billion while chemical exports were up 18.49% to $ 2.34 billion. Readymade garment exports were up 11.27% to $ 1.24 billion while marine product exports were 13.54% to $ 877 million.
“Diversification of export markets, along with the continued resilience of several key sectors, has played a crucial role in supporting export growth. With sustained policy support, enhanced logistics efficiency, and access to competitive export financing, India’s exports are well-positioned to maintain this positive trajectory in the coming months,” president of Federation of Indian Export Organisations S C Ralhan said.
To help exporters the commerce ministry is finalising the detailed guidelines of the Rs 25,060-crore export promotion mission, and a few components of it will be rolled out this week itself, the commerce secretary said.
He said though this help may not be enough to deal with the steep 50% tariff imposed by the US, it will definitely bring relief for exporters in areas of liquidity.
Services exports in November grew 1.55% on year to $ 35.86 billion while imports were up 4,11% to $ 17.96 billion. In April-November goods exports grew 2.62% to $ 292.07 billion while imports were up 5.59% to $ 515.21 billion. Overall exports in April-November were up 5.43% to $ 562.13 billion and imports were up 5.00% to $ 651.13 billion.