Exports contract for fifth straight month in December, imports shrink 8.8%

Policymakers worried over dwindling imports, which contracted for 7th month

Exports contracted for the fifth straight month in December, as processed petroleum exports saw lower receipts and broad-based decline continued to plague all major foreign exchange earning sectors, according to data released on Wednesday by the commerce and industry ministry.

The decline in exports stood at 1.8 per cent in December, higher than the 0.3 per cent fall in November. Outbound trade contracted for the sixth month out of the first nine months of the financial year 2019-20 (FY20). Till December, cumulative exports stood at $239 billion, 2 per cent lower than the corresponding period in the previous financial year.