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India’s exports in November contracted 4.85 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) to $32.11 billion, while the trade deficit widened to an all-time high of $37.84 billion due to record rise in gold imports . The drop came after posting double-digit growth in October.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, imports rose 27 percent year-on-year to a record $69.95 billion in November due to high inbound shipments of vegetable oil, fertilizers and silver.
Gold imports during the month under review reached an all-time high of $14.8 billion, up from $3.5 billion in November 2023.
Overall, during April-November of this fiscal year, exports rose 2.17 percent to $284.31 billion and imports rose 8.35 percent to $486.73 billion.
The trade deficit, the difference between imports and exports, during April-November widened to $202.42 billion from $170.98 billion during April-November 2023.
Reporting the data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said fluctuations in oil prices are affecting exports.
Shipments of petroleum products have declined about 50 percent to $3.71 billion last month. Also during the first eight months of this fiscal year, these exports contracted 19 percent year-on-year to $44.6 billion.
However, the secretary said non-oil exports are still registering healthy growth, and this, along with the services sector, would help the country surpass $800 billion in total exports by the end of this fiscal year.
Regarding the high trade deficit and imports, the secretary said that there is no need to worry about this since the country is growing.
He also said that the ministry is focusing on 20 countries and six services and manufacturing sectors, including IT/ITeS, to further boost shipments. There is huge potential in these 20 countries to increase exports and to tap into it, the ministry is in touch with Indian missions abroad.
The ministry will call a meeting with these missions in January next year. “We will come up with a strategy on how to improve exports in all 20 countries,” Barthwal said.
According to estimates, service exports in November 2024 increased to $35.67 billion compared to $28.11 billion in November 2023. These exports reached an all-time high of $34.31 billion in October, registering an increase of 22, 3 percent year-on-year.
Crude oil imports rose 7.9 percent to $16.11 billion last month.
On the export front, key sectors that recorded negative growth during the month under review included oilseed meals, iron ore, coal, precious stones and jewellery, chemicals and handicrafts.
However, the sectors that recorded positive growth are textiles, engineering goods, electronics, pharmaceuticals and spices.
Raw cotton waste, used in the textile industry, saw an increase in imports from $30.61 million in November 2023 to $170.73 million last month.
