India's exports are on path of quicker recovery: Trade council

The country's exports have recorded a growth of 5.4 per cent in January

The country's exports, which have recorded a growth of 5.4 per cent in January, reflects the trade has been on the path of quick recovery, TPCI said on Tuesday.

Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) Founder Chairman Mohit Singla said that the exports have also recorded positive growth in December 2020 and it is a reflection that Indian products have been sustaining its global demand despite challenges.

"The figures clearly show that the global trade flow has been streamlining fast, and bottlenecks owing to the pandemic are easing out gradually," he said in a statement.

He also said that imports have also started picking up, reflecting a revival in the domestic market demand.

"Among the top five commodity groups of export which recorded positive growth during January 2021 are other cereals, Oil meals, and cereal preparations and miscellaneous processed items, and Jute manufacturing. This shows that the agri and processed food industry are the engine of this demand driven growth and I am hopeful that this momentum is going to continue," Singla added.

The country's exports grew 5.37 per cent year-on-year to USD 27.24 billion in January 2021, mainly driven by healthy growth in pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors, according to provisional data of the commerce ministry. Imports during the month rose 2 per cent to USD 42 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 14.75 billion.

Commenting on the numbers, Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO) President Sharad Kumar Saraf said the monthly exports further moved northward towards positive territory with almost all major export category products showing impressive growth with signs of further revival.

"Positive growth of about 5.5 percent with USD 27.24 billion of exports show not only signs of better order booking position but further improvement in coming months and the new fiscal," Saraf said.

However, he urges the government to soon notify the RoDTEP (remission of duties and taxes on export products) rates, which will remove uncertainty from the minds of the trade and industry, thereby forging new contracts with the foreigner buyers.