Exports Up 18% In 2002-03

Imports climb 17%, trade deficit up 10.5%

Exports have grown 18 per cent to touch $51.7 billion in 2002-03 against $43.79 billion in the previous year, despite the global economic slowdown, the war in Iraq and the strengthening of the rupee.

According to the provisional trade data released by Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley today, imports clocked a 17 per cent growth in the last fiscal to reach $59.39 billion compared to $50.75 billion in 2001-02.

The trade deficit was estimated at $7.68 billion in 2002-03, up 10.5 per cent from $6.95 billion in the previous fiscal.

Despite the healthy export growth in the last fiscal, Jaitley said the government would stick to the 12 per cent target for 2003-04 outlined in the medium-term export strategy unveiled last year. He also said India could achieve the target of cornering a 1 per cent share of world trade by 2007.

Commerce Secretary Dipak Chatterjee would talk to export promotion councils on May 6 to share their perception on the target and initiate necessary measures, Jaitley said.

In March this year, exports rose 15.28 per cent to $4.77 billion against $4.14 billion in the corresponding period last year. Imports rose 25.16 per cent to $5.55 billion in March 2003 from $4.43 billion in March 2002.

Jaitley said all the major export items had witnessed an increase. Handicraft exports rose 26 per cent, followed by engineering goods (24.7 per cent), man-made yarn and fabrics (24 per cent), chemicals (18.1 per cent), gems and jewellery (18.2 per cent), rice (47 per cent) and marine products (13 per cent).

In 2002-03, India's merchandise exports to the US rose 29 per cent. Merchandise exports to the EU increased 15 per cent. Exports to Japan went up 24 per cent.

There was also a 59 per cent increase in exports to Singapore and 33 per cent to the United Arab Emirates. The country's exports to China went up 96 per cent.

"The substantial growth in exports to China has been due to its entry to the World Trade Organisation. This has also blown the myth that Indian manufacturers are not competitive enough to compete with their Chinese counterparts," Chatterjee said.

Jaitley said the balance of payments had been adversely affected by the rise in international oil prices as oil imports were up 26.77 percent. Non-oil imports also increased 13.31 per cent.

Besides oil, which accounted for 30 per cent of the import bill, the other major contributors were gems and jewellery (11.2 per cent), electronics (10.21 per cent), machinery (7.7 per cent), chemicals (5.5 per cent) and vegetable oils (3.28 per cent).

On the effect of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) on Indian exports, Jaitley said India