Trade game: Exports to China saw sharpest fall in December, shows data

India's shipments to 4 of top 10 destinations declined

India’s outbound shipments to four of top 10 export destinations – United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Netherlands, China, and Singapore – contracted in December last year, which led to a decline of 1 per cent to $38 billion in the country’s overall merchandise exports, data from the commerce department showed.

 

Exports to China witnessed the sharpest decline at 26.15 per cent, followed by the Netherlands at 25.89 per cent, UAE at 23 per cent, and Singapore at 10.95 per cent, respectively.

 

Alternatively, the US continued to remain India’s largest export market followed by the UAE, and the Netherlands, despite the December contraction. Countries that saw an uptick in exports included the United States (8.49 per cent), United Kingdom (6.13 per cent), Saudi Arabia (50.46 per cent), Bangladesh (33.58 per cent), Germany (3.85 per cent), and Australia (45.86 per cent).

 

These 10 countries comprised 51 per cent of India's total value of goods exported in December 2024. 

 

On the other hand, in the same period, India’s overall imports witnessed 4.9 per cent growth at $59.95 billion, led by a jump in inbound shipments from five of the top 10 import destinations – China, Russia, Iraq, Switzerland, and the US.

 

Growth in the inbound shipments from Switzerland was the sharpest at 85.65 per cent in December, majorly driven by gold imports. It was followed by the US (9.88 per cent, China (9.14 per cent), Iraq (3.72 per cent), and Russia (0.96 per cent), the data showed.

 

India’s import dependency went down in some countries including– UAE (-2.97 per cent) Saudi Arabia (-15.49 per cent), Indonesia (-19.68 per cent), South Korea (-9.28 per cent), and Singapore (-17.38 per cent).

 

These 10 countries account for over 57 per cent of India’s overall merchandise imports.