India's electronics, pharma, engineering goods exports beat global trade blues

livemint.com:

New Delhi: Only a handful of Indian goods such as mobile phones and drugs witnessed a rise in their annual export value during the first 11 months of FY24 in a year that saw high interest rates globally curb demand and geopolitical tensions hurt international trade. Goods that saw their exports value increase between April 2023 and February 2024 include agricultural produce, drugs and pharmaceuticals, cotton yarn and handloom products, electronic goods, iron ore, ceramic products /glassware and engineering goods, according to the latest commerce ministry data.

By contrast, major export commodities like chemical and allied products, textiles, gems and jewellery, marine products, organic and inorganic chemical products, petroleum products, plastic and linoleum products, ready-made garments and rice have seen a major drop in export value during the period. Exports of electronic goods jumped 23.62% on year to $25.59 billion, according to data from the government’s Niryat website (National Import-Export Record for Yearly Analysis of Trade).

During the period, export of drugs and pharmaceuticals rose 9.4% to $25.02 billion, driven by demand from advanced economies like the US and Europe, while iron ore exports surged 154.55% to $3.64 billion. The export of cotton yarn and handloom products rose by 6.75% to $10.59 billion, and that of ceramic products and glassware by 15.77% to $3.89 billion.

Export of engineering goods rose to $97.95 billion during the April-February period of FY24, up from $96.76 billion a year ago. India Ratings expects goods and services exports to grow 5.8% and imports to rise 8.8% in FY25, against 1.4% and 13.2%, respectively, in FY24, but warned that protectionist policies in the West could hamper