India’s export growth was below the world average in January-March, but imports rose faster than the increase seen globally.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has estimated that the country’s exports rose by 2.1 per cent to $78.64 billion in the first quarter of 2012. In contrast the country’s imports shot up at a faster pace of 21.8 per cent to $122.47 billion during the period, according to the global trade body’s ‘Quarterly World Trade Estimates’ .

In contrast, global exports rose by 5.3 per cent to $4.46 trillion , while imports increased by just 5.4 per cent, to $4.54 trillion.

This was the slowest level of export growth seen in India during the past year. In January-March 2011, the country’s exports had shot up by 49.4 per cent.

They continued to register strong growth in the subsequent two quarters, surging by 37.5 per cent and 51.2 per cent, respectively. However, in the last quarter of 2011, the growth slowed to a disappointing 5.3 per cent.

Lowest level

Imports were also at their lowest level in four quarters during the January-March quarter. In the corresponding quarter of 2011, they had increased by 24.1 per cent. The value of imports shot up further by 34.1 per cent in Q2, 2011, but grew at a slower pace thereafter to 33.8 per cent and 29.1 per cent, respectively, in the last two quarters of the year.

India’s export performance outstripped the global average in the first three quarters of 2011, when outbound shipments worldwide rose by 22.6 per cent, 25 per cent and 22.3 per cent. The country only fell behind the rest of the pack in the fourth quarter of 2011, when global exports rose by 9.9 per cent.

However, the good performance was overshadowed by the sharp increase in India’s imports at a faster pace than the rest of the world.

Globally, imports rose by 22.4 per cent, 24.3 per cent, 20.3 per cent and 10.3 per cent during the four quarters of 2011.

> arvind.jayaram@thehindu.co.in

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