Goods exports in September rise 4.82% to $35.45 b

India’s goods exports continued its slow growth in September 2022, increasing 4.82 per cent (year-on-year) to $35.45 billion, as prospects for world trade in 2023 and the second half of 2022 turned shaky.

Imports in September 2022 rose 8.66 per cent to $61.16 billion, widening the trade deficit during the month by 14.42 per cent to $25.71 billion, per quick estimates for trade data for September 2022 released by the Commerce & Industry Ministry on Friday.

Exports of goods in September 2022, with the exclusion of non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery, registered a fall of 4.58 per cent to $ 24.22 billion, according to the data.

Items which posted a decline in exports in September 2022 include engineering goods, readymade garments, cotton yarn & fabrics, plastic and iron ore.

Sectors that registered increased exports during the month included petroleum products, gems & jewellery, electronic products, drugs & pharmaceuticals and chemicals, the data showed.

6-month trade data

Goods exports in April-September 2022 increased 16.96 per cent to $231.88 billion. Imports in the six-month period increased 38.55 per cent to $380.34 billion resulting in a near-doubling of the trade deficit to $148.46 billion.

Earlier this month, the WTO estimated that world merchandise trade volume growth was likely to slow to 1 per cent in 2023, down from the previous forecast of 3 per cent made in April this year, mainly due to the Ukraine war, high energy prices, inflation, and monetary tightening in major economies. It also predicted that global trade in goods in 2022 would grow at 3.5 per cent--better than the 3 per cent estimated in April--but it was expected to lose momentum in the second half of 2022.

In India, while exports posted robust growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal, a slowdown has set in since July 2022.

Challenging period

Exporters’ body FIEO said that the coming few months would be “quite challenging’’ unless the geopolitical situation improved drastically. However, the decline in imports is encouraging despite the huge jump in import of coal and transport equipment, it added in a statement.

Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in September 2022 increased 20.64 per cent to $37.71 billion. Gold imports in September 2022 declined 24.62 per cent to $3.8 billion.

Exports posted an increase of over 40 per cent in 2021-22 to touch an all-time high of $422 billion. In 2022-23, the government is aiming for exports worth $460-480 billion.

COMMENT NOW