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New Delhi: India’s goods exports declined 2.17% on-year to $38.73 billion in May while trade deficit narrowed to $21.88 billion in the month from $26.4 billion in April and $22.09 billion a year ago, official data released Monday showed.
Imports declined 1.7% to $60.61 billion in May. Gold imports fell 12.6% in the month.
“Despite global policy uncertainty regarding trade and conflicts which are going on, we have done extremely well,” said commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal, adding that there was a sustained fall in petrol prices which has had a dampening impact on exports.
Exports to the US rose 16.9% in May and among sectors, electronic goods, inorganic and organic chemicals, pharma, ready-made garments, drove outbound shipments.
Barthwal added that India will continue with the policy of focussing on six key sectors that make up 75% of global imports. “Despite the negative forecast of WTO, India is doing much better…there are some conflicts we are watching from the perspective of trade,” he said.
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In May, 13 of the 30 key sectors registered a decline in exports.”The latest trade figures reflect the robust performance of India’s services sector, which continues to act as a buffer against the challenges of muted global demand, geopolitical tensions, and high interest rates,” said S C Ralhan, president, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
China AND rare earth MAGNETS
Barthwal said both diplomatic and commercial discussions are going on with China to address issues related to Beijing’s export curbs on rare earth magnets, mainly used in the auto sector.
China’s restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and related magnets are affecting the domestic auto and white goods sectors.
“We are making all the efforts to see that these essential items of imports can come to India… this diplomatic and commercial communication should yield a positive result,” Barthwal said.
The automobile industry has sought government support in expediting approvals from the Chinese government to import rare earth magnets used in various applications including passenger cars. “These curbs are against all the countries and are not against India only,” Barthwal said, adding that the government is in talks with both the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA).
“We are facilitating them to have discussions with their counterparts in China and at the diplomatic level the external affairs ministry and the department of commerce also have spoken to our ambassador over there,” he said.
Iran-Israel conflict
Barthwal said the government was closely monitoring the situation arising from the Iran-Israel conflict, and a meeting with shipping lines, container firms, and other stakeholders will be held this week to assess the impact on the country overseas trade and address any issue.
“We are watching the situation. We are also calling a meeting (this week) of all shipping lines, the container organisations and concerned departments, and stakeholders to understand the kind of issues they are facing and how we can sort it out,” he said.
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