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Driven by a pick-up demand in the US and Latin American markets, the country’s exports rose by 32.4 per cent year-on-year to $20.6 billion in January, in line with projections that overall shipments will touch $225 billion this fiscal.
During the April-January period of 2010-11, outbound shipments grew by 29.3 per cent to $184.63 billion vis-a-vis the year-ago period, the Commerce Ministry data released today showed.
Apex exporters’ body FIEO said the country’s exports are increasing in new markets of Latin America and Africa, along with the US and especially within Asia.
“The January number is a huge jump. Strategy of going beyond the traditional markets of the US and Europe is paying rich dividends,” the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said.
The government incentivises exporters to explore African and Latin American markets.
However, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today said there were several external factors that pose challenges to the Indian economy.
“Global recovery remains fragile... There is also the danger of sovereign debt crisis in peripheral euro zone countries spilling over to financial markets,” Mr Mukherjee said at the Annual General Meeting of FICC here.
According to the data, imports grew by 13.1 per cent during the month to $28.58 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $7.98 billion.
The Commerce Secretary, Mr Rahul Khullar, recently said India is likely to cross the $200 billion export target for the fiscal in February and total shipments during the year are likely to touch $225 billion.
The Commerce Ministry has also sought public comments on its strategic paper to double India’s exports to $450 billion in the next three years.
According to the Ministry, the sectors that performed well during the April-January period of the current financial year include gems and jewellery (up 9.3 per cent), engineering (up 70 per cent) and petroleum and oil lubricants (up 36 per cent).
Exporters are seeing huge demand for engineering products from Latin American countries such as Colombia, an official said.
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