New Delhi, Feb 2 : India’s January merchandise exports rose over 5.37 per cent on a year-on-year basis, preliminary data showed on Tuesday. Accordingly, the country’s merchandise exports during the month under review grew to $27.24 billion from $25.85 billion in January 2020.
As per the data, in January 2021, the value of non-petroleum exports rose by 11.37 per cent over January 2020 to $25.24 billion.
“The value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in January 2021 was $22.40 billion as compared to $19.79 billion in January 2020, registering a positive growth of 13.21 per cent,” a Ministry of Commerce and Industry statement said on the basis of preliminary data.
“The cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in April-January 2020-21 was $188.73 billion, as compared to $197.94 billion for the corresponding period in 2019-20, exhibiting a decrease of 4.65 per cent,” it added.
In terms of imports, India’s inbound shipments in January 2021 increased by 2.05 per cent to $41.99 billion from $41.15 billion during the corresponding period of 2020.
“Merchandise imports during April-January 2020-21 were $300.26 billion, as compared to $405.33 billion during the same period last year, exhibiting a negative growth of 25.92 per cent,” the statement said.
Last month, oil imports were $9.40 billion, as compared to $13.01 billion in January 2020, a decline of 27.72 per cent.
“Non-oil imports in January 2021 were estimated at $32.59 billion, as compared to $28.14 billion in January 2020, showing an increase of 15.81 per cent. Non-oil, non-GJ (gold, silver and precious metals) imports were $26.35 billion in January 2021, recording a positive growth of 5.94 per cent, as compared to non-oil and non-GJ imports of $24.87 billion in January 2020,” the statement said.
Consequently, India’s trade deficit stood at $14.75 billion in January 2021.
However, on a year-on-year basis, the deficit declined by 3.57 per cent at $15.30 billion.
“The rise in both merchandise exports and imports in January 2021 is heartening, signifying a continued strengthening of the domestic growth recovery,” said Aditi Nayar Principal Economist at ICRA.
“With the merchandise trade deficit having risen to US$14-15 billion over the last two months, we expect the current account balance to slip back into a deficit in H2 FY2021,” Nayar added.
According to Founder Chairman of TPCI, Mohit Singla: “India’s merchandise exports growth for the month of January 2021, shows that India’s trade has been on the path of quick recovery.
“This clearly shows that the global trade flow has been streamlining fast and bottlenecks owing to the pandemic are easing out gradually. Also, it is a reflection that Indian products have been sustaining its global demand despite challenges and resilience efforts of our exporters have started bearing fruits again.”
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.