India’s exports, buoyed by the services sector, increased 14% to a record $770 billion during the most recent fiscal year, while imports increased to a new high of $892 billion, despite a slowdown in the demand for goods owing to global headwinds.
According to the most recent figures, goods exports increased by little under 6% to $447 billion, setting a new high but falling short of expectations at the beginning of the previous fiscal year. Increasing by 16.5% to $714 billion, goods imports contributed to a record trade deficit.However, exports decreased 6% to $38.4 billion in March, marking the second consecutive month of declines, while imports down over 8% to $58.1 billion, marking the fourth consecutive month of declines. The expected trade deficit was $19.7 billion, the the first gain in four months.
Oil price declines caused a decrease in imports, according to commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, who also noted that challenging global economic conditions were placing pressure on goods exports. However, he took solace in the figures, noting that they were in line with the $772 billion prediction made for 2022–2023 when the complete services figures were still pending.
“GST collections are high, exports are at a record high, inflation has dropped below the RBI’s comfort level, foreign exchange reserves are solid, and India is the largest economy with the quickest rate of growth. He added that record remittances of $100 billion and investment flows will keep the current account deficit in check. “It reflects the mood of the country,” he said.
17 of the 30 total Major industries expanded over the previous fiscal year, and exporters are confident that the current fiscal year will again be successful. Mobile phones were a standout among the electronic items, which had a growth of almost 50% to $23.6 billion.
IT, accountancy, and business processing are just a few of the service sectors that are experiencing a solid increase, Goyal continued.
Regarding imports, the commerce ministry reported that shipments of large products like fertilisers and electrical equipment arrived from alternative markets, bringing China’s proportion in India’s import basket down from 15.4% to 13.0% in 2022–23.
However, in absolute terms, imports from China grew to $98.5 billion during the most recent fiscal year from $94.6 billion the year before, a 4% increase.
