Exports rise 2.56% to USD 35.2 bn in Jun; trade deficit widens to USD 20.98 bn

New Delhi: India's merchandise exports in June rose 2.56 percent to USD 35.2 billion despite global challenges, even as the trade deficit widened to USD 20.98 billion during the month. According to government data released on Monday, imports rose about 5 percent to USD 56.18 billion in June due to the increase in inbound shipments of crude oil, pulses, and electronic goods.

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Imports rose 7.6% in Apr-June period

The trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, during June 2023 was USD 19.19 billion. India's merchandise exports grew 9.1 percent to USD 38.13 billion in May, even as the trade deficit widened to a seven-month high of USD 23.78 billion. Cumulatively, the merchandise exports in April-June this fiscal climbed 5.84 percent to USD 109.96 billion, and imports grew 7.6 percent to USD 172.23 billion.

The trade deficit during April-June 2024 widened to USD 62.26 billion compared to USD 56.16 billion in the same period last year. Briefing media on the data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said going by the current trend, the country's total exports of goods and services may cross USD 800 billion this fiscal.

During the first quarter of 2024-25, the exports of goods and services stood at about USD 200 billion, he added. "If the current trend continues, we will certainly cross USD 800 billion this fiscal," Barthwal said, adding the major drivers of export growth are engineering, electronics, pharmaceuticals, coffee and chemicals.

He added that the ministry is focussing on six major sectors (engineering, textiles and apparel, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and plastics, and agriculture) and 20 countries to boost exports.

Oil imports up by 23% in Apr-June

Oil imports rose by 19.62 percent to USD 15 billion in June. It was up by 23 percent at USD 51.5 billion during April-June 2024-25. However, gold imports dipped by 38.66 percent to USD 3 billion in June this year and 1.91 percent during the first quarter of this fiscal at USD 9.51 billion.

Silver imports jumped to USD 210.7 million in June from USD 44.14 million in June 2023. Similarly, during April-June, these imports more than doubled to USD 482.78 million from USD 184.18 million in April-June 2023-24.

According to the data, the estimated value of services exported in June is USD 30.27 billion compared to USD 27.79 billion in June 2023. Imports of services are projected to have increased to USD 17.29 billion during the month from USD 15.61 billion in June 2023.

Further, the data showed that India's shipment to the major export destinations - the US, UAE, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Tanzania, the Netherlands, and Singapore recorded healthy growth in June.

When asked about container shortages being faced by exporters, Additional Secretary in the ministry Anant Swarup said the department is holding regular meetings with exporters and they have so far not reported any shortages. "Even the Ministry of Shipping has confirmed that there is no shortage of containers being reported at any of the ports," Swarup said.

Talking about non-trade barriers (NTBs), Barthwal said the department has constituted a task force to look into the issues and help exporters. "We are also working on a digital platform, whereby it will become easier for our exporters to tell us which are the NTBs they are facing so that we can take up those with our missions abroad," Barthwal said.

On various occasions, Indian export sample tested in other countries gets rejected. It has heavy cost implications for Indian exporters, as they have to either destroy that consignment or bring it back. "So, this portal will help our exporters in meeting the non-tariff measures, which are imposed by different countries so that they (domestic exporters) can produce according to those jurisdictions," he added.

India's many food and agriculture products face problems due to higher pesticide levels, presence of pests and contaminations due to foot and mouth disease.

Key Indian export items that routinely face high barriers include chillies, tea, basmati rice, milk, poultry, bovine meat, fish, chemical products to the EU, sesame seed, black tiger shrimps, medicines, apparel to Japan, food, meat, fish, dairy, industrial products to China; shrimps to the US, and bovine meat to South Korea.

Most non-tariff measures (NTMs) are domestic rules created by countries with an aim to protect human, animal or plant health and the environment. NTM may be technical measures like regulations, standards, testing, certification, pre-shipment inspection or non-technical measures like quotas, import licensing, subsidies, and government procurement restrictions.

When NTMs become arbitrary, beyond scientific justification, they create hurdles for trade and are called NTBs (non-tariff barriers). Commenting on the trade data, FIEO President Ashwani Kumar said the third consecutive increase in merchandise exports shows the resilience of the sector. Kumar said if there were no logistics disruptions like lack of container availability, shipping space, irregular shipping schedule and ships skipping Indian ports, exports would have recorded close to double-digit growth in June 2024.

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