India’s export grew by 4.39 per cent to $23.56 billion in June as shipments of chemicals, engineering and marine products improved, according to the official data released. Import too rose by 19 per cent to $36.52 billion in June from $30.68 billion in the year-ago month due to rise in inward shipments of oil and gold. A rise in import shot up the country’s trade deficit to $12.96 billion in the month under review from $8.11 billion in June 2016, the data released by the Commerce Ministry showed.
For the fiscal first quarter, trade deficit more than doubled to $40 billion from $19.2 billion a year earlier. “An unabated surge in imports of gold and precious stones contributed to the wider-than-expected merchandise trade deficit of $13 billion in June 2017, even as merchandise exports printed in line with expectations.
Half of the 30 export sectors showed a decline. Major commodity groups of export that showed growth over the year-earlier period were engineering goods (14.78 per cent), petroleum products (3.6 per cent), organic and inorganic chemicals (13.2 per cent), rice (27.29 per cent) and marine products (24.27 per cent). India reported these muted numbers at a time when China posted better than expected exports with an 11.3 per cent expansion in June.