INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
West started impacting shipments from the country, further exacerbated by a higher number of holidays during the festival month
The exports declined 16.65 per cent in October to $29.78 billion, the data released by the commerce department showed on Tuesday
Imports, on the other hand, moderated to the lowest level in eight months, growing at 5.7 per cent to $56.69 billion last month
This resulted in a trade deficit of $26.91 billion, which remained above the $25-billion mark for a fifth straight month, according to the
It was in November 2020 when exports contracted last time, by 8.74 per cent
Contraction in key commodity groups such as engineering goods (-21.3 per cent), gems and jewellery (-21.6 per cent), chemicals (-16.4 per
cent), and readymade garments (-21.2 per cent) dragged down the overall exports
Non-petroleum, non-gems and jewellery exports -- considered to be core exports --declined by 20.4 per cent to $26.25 billion in October
Therefore, consumption slows down
These are going to be tough times for us
Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA, said a moderation in exports and imports on a sequential basis in October was driven by a larger
number of holidays in the festival season
On a cumulative basis, the growth in exports was 12.55 per cent during the first seven months of the financial year (April-October)
In terms of value, exports had peaked at $42 billion in the month of March
After June, outbound shipments gradually started declining, with geopolitical tensions affecting demand
A Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said the coming months would be quite challenging unless
both global economic growth and geopolitical situation improved drastically
Rajani Sinha, chief economist at Care Ratings, said the pinch from slowing external demand was going to get more painful for the Indian
economy in the months to come
