India’s merchandise exports dip slightly in August, trade deficit widens to $28.7 billion
New Delhi, Sep 4 (FN Agency) India’s merchandise exports growth remained almost flat at $33 billion in August 2022 while trade deficit widened to $28.68 billion as imports remained far higher than exports. “India has achieved merchandise export of USD 33.0 billion in August 2022, almost at similar levels of USD 33.38 billion in August 2021,” Commerce Ministry said in a media release on Saturday. The slight dip in exports, a key growth driver in the post-pandemic times, reflects subdued demand from advanced economies where recession fears have been looming. As per the preliminary data, the value of non-petroleum exports in August 2022 was $28.09 billion, registering a negative growth of only 2.22% over non-petroleum exports of $28.73 billion in August 2021.
Value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in August 2022 was $24.8 billion, registering a negative growth of 1.96% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of $25.29 billion in August 2021. Amongst the major products, exports of electronic goods (50.68%), rice (42.32%), organic and inorganic chemicals (13.35%) registered impressive growth during August 2022. India’s merchandise import in August 2022 was $61.68 billion, an increase of 36.78% over $45.09 billion in August 2021. Value of non-petroleum imports was $44.07 billion in August 2022 with a positive growth of 23.63% over non-petroleum imports of $35.65 billion in August 2021.
The value of non-oil, non-GJ (gold, silver & precious metals) imports was $37.46 billion in August 2022 with a positive growth of 40.37% over non-oil and non-GJ imports of $26.69 billion in August 2021. “The import surge reflects the strong demand of the domestic economy due to robust growth and strong fundamentals of the Indian economy. In value terms, the surge in imports is due to a combination of quantity and price factors,” the Commerce Ministry said.” High increase in import values in August 2022 have been witnessed in the following major commodity groups Coal, Coke & Briquettes, etc. (133.64%), Petroleum, Crude & products (86.44%), Organic & Inorganic Chemicals (42.73%), Vegetable Oil (41.55%),” it added.