The Hindu Business Line : Traditional items propel high export growth in H1

TRADITIONAL items such as agri and allied products, gem and jewellery, chemicals and engineering goods, which account for slightly above 58 per cent of the country's export basket have done exceeding well to push the first half growth of the current fiscal to 32.19 per cent in dollar terms compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Disaggregated trade data compiled by the Directorate of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics (DGCI&S) and not yet published reveal that by far the best growth was notched up by engineering goods which with a weight of 17.7 per cent in total exports grew by 44.44 per cent at $6,415.41 million during April-September 2004 against $4,441.62 million in the corresponding months of 2003-04.

Chemicals and related products (weight 15.64 per cent) posted a growth of 31.22 per cent at $5,666.98 million against $4,318.72 million, while gem and jewellery (17.77 per cent) registered a growth of 34.15 per cent at $6,438.68 million ($4,799.57 million).

Textiles exports, which suffered substantially during 2003-04 did well as such, exports with a weight of 16.75 per cent in aggregate exports with a growth of 15.78 per cent at $6,068.43 million against $5,241.21 million.

It is also interesting to note that the share of textile exports which hovered between 20 per cent and 24 per cent has also come down recently, reflecting the growing share of other exportable items such as petroleum products.

Export of petroleum products (8 per cent weight) grew by 74.29 per cent at $2,898.55 million against $1,663.11 million.

Marine products with a share of 1.52 per cent did insipidly by notching up a negative 12.12 per cent growth at $549.45 million against $625.21 million. Overall, exports during the first half of the current fiscal at $36,235.05 million were up 32.19 per cent compared to $27,411.90 million.

Destination wise, Asia and Oceania which account for as much as 46 per cent of India's aggregate exports did well by growing by 37 per cent at $16,532.13 million against $12,071.62 million. West Europe, which absorbs as much as 24.2 per cent of India's exports, grew 27 per cent at $8,768.99 million ($6,925.83 million). Exports to the Americas, which take 22.09 per cent of the country's exports, grew by 28 per cent at $8,003.58 million against $6,241.55 million.It is also revealing to note that among the top 15 countries for exports, Singapore recorded the highest growth of 138 per cent during the period under review, followed by China at 73 per cent, the UAE at 61 per cent, Belgium at 40 per cent and France at 39 per cent.

On the import front, bulk imports with a weight of 41.92 per cent grew by a whopping 48.98 per cent during the first half of the current fiscal at $20,020.66 million against $13,438.38 million.

Import of petroleum, crude and products, which account for 30.54 per cent of the country's aggregate imports, grew by 58.28 per cent at $14,584.09 million against $9,214.23 million. The high growth in consumption of POL was also in the face of crude price escalation noticeable during the period under review. Though edible oil accounts for 2.59 per cent of the total imports, it registered a negative growth of 15.19 per cent at $1,235.61 million against $1,456.86 million.

Interestingly, gold and silver displayed buoyant trends as such with imports accounting for 8.6 per cent share in aggregate imports amounting to $4,107.32 million against $3,217 million. Overall, imports during the first half of the current fiscal grew by 37.32 per cent at $47,755.98 million against $34,777.38 million.

Destination wise, Asia and Oceania which account for 34.13 per cent of India's total imports registered a growth of close to 37 per cent at $16,300.84 million against $11,275.89 million, while West Europe (21.63 per cent share in India's total imports) grew by 21.37 per cent at $10,327.41 million against $8,508.75 million.

Imports from the Americas, accounting for 8.08 per cent in total imports, posted a growth of 19.26 per cent at $3,859.67 million against $3,236.38 million. Among the top 15 countries for imports, the highest growth was recorded by the UAE at 170 per cent, followed by China at 68 per cent and Australia at 62 per cent.

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