India's merchandise exports rises 2.9% in February 2020

Trade deficit declines to 12-months low of US$ 9.85 billion in February 2020

India's merchandise exports increased 2.9% to US$ 27.65 billion in February 2020 over a year ago, while snapping consistent decline for last six straight months. Meanwhile, merchandise imports also moved up 2.5% to US$ 37.50 billion after continuous decline for last eight straight months. The trade deficit rose marginally by 1.3% to US$ 9.85 billion in February 2020 from US$ 9.60 billion in February 2019, while dipped sharply to 12-months low on sequential basis from US$ 15.17 billion in January 2020.

Oil imports increased 14.3% to US$ 10.76 billion, while the non-oil imports fell 1.6% to US$ 26.74 billion in February 2020 over February 2019. The share of oil imports in total imports was 28.7% in February 2020, compared with 25.9% in February 2019.

Among the non-oil imports, the major contributors to the overall growth in imports were pearls, precious & semi-precious stones imports rising 13.2% to US$ 2.44 billion, electrical & non-electrical machinery 9.0% to US$ 3.36 billion, vegetable oil 26.1% to US$ 0.89 billion, transport equipment 6.1% to US$ 1.79 billion and non-ferrous metals 6.8% to US$ 1.09 billion, while imports of chemical material & products also increased 4.4% to US$ 0.59 billion, professional instrument, optical goods etc 4.3% to US$ 0.40 billion, medicinal & pharmaceutical products 1.9% to US$ 0.47 billion and artificial resins, plastic materials etc 0.5% to US$ 1.17 billion.

However, the imports of iron & steel declined 26.2% to US$ 1.00 billion, organic & inorganic chemicals 14.7% to US$ 1.49 billion, electronic goods 6.7% to US$ 3.52 billion, gold 8.5% to US$ 2.36 billion and metaliferrous ores & other minerals 38.6% to US$ 0.30 billion. Further, the imports of coal, coke & briquettes etc also fell 8.6% to US$ 1.83 billion, crude & manufactured fertilizers 16.1% to US$ 0.42 billion and machine tools 14.3% to US$ 0.33 billion in February 2020.

On exports front, the engineering goods recorded an increase in exports by 8.7% to US$ 7.24 billion, followed by electronic goods 37.1% to US$ 1.17 billion, petroleum products 10.1% to US$ 3.39 billion, organic & inorganic chemicals 16.3% to US$ 2.01 billion, drugs & pharmaceuticals 8.3% to US$ 1.75 billion, and iron ore 37.9% to US$ 0.18 billion. The exports also moved up for man-made yarn/fabrics/made-ups etc by 10.6% to US$ 0.43 billion, ceramic products & glassware 14.6% to US$ 0.26 billion, spices 6.6% to US$ 0.29 billion, and marine products 1.7% to US$ 0.44 billion.

However, the exports declined for gems & jewellery by 20.1% to US$ 3.02 billion, RMG of all textiles 4.5% to US$ 1.47 billion, meat, dairy & poultry products 17.2% to US$ 0.24 billion, rice 5.3% to US$ 0.70 billion and mica, coal & other ores, minerals including processed minerals 7.1% to US$ 0.33 billion in February 2020. Further, the exports of leather & leather products also fell 4.0% to US$ 0.38 billion, cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products etc 1.3% to US$ 0.87 billion, plastic & linoleum 1.5% to US$ 0.61 billion and fruits & vegetables 0.7% to US$ 0.29 billion in February 2020.

Merchandise exports in Rupees increased 3.3% to Rs 197646 crore, while imports rose 2.9% to Rs 268064 crore in February 2020 over February 2019. The trade deficit rose to Rs 70418 crore in February 2020 compared with Rs 68340 crore in February 2019.

India's merchandise exports fell 1.6% to US$ 292.91 billion, while merchandise imports declined 7.0% to US$ 436.03 billion in April-February 2020. The decline in imports was driven by a 7.4% fall in oil imports to US$ 119.42 billion. India's merchandise trade deficit eased to US$ 143.12 billion in April-February 2020 from US$ 170.85 billion in April-February 2019.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News