India’s foreign trade down 2.5% on-yr in Jan-June: GTRI
exports and imports of goods and services declined 2.5% on-year in January-June 2023 at $800.9 billion, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said Monday.
Exports of goods and services rose 1.5% to $385.4 billion in the first six months of the calendar year as against $379.5 billion in the corresponding period a year ago while imports dipped 5.9% to $415.5 billion from $441.7 billion in January-June 2022.
In merchandise trade, exports fell 8.1% to $218.7 billion, while imports contracted 8.3% to $325.7 billion.
“Data is showing modest decline due to weak global demand and losing competitiveness in labour intensive sectors,” said GTRI Co-founder Ajay Srivastava.
Services exports during the six months grew 17.7% to $166.7 billion, while imports rose 3.7% to $89.8 billion.
India exports goods to 240 countries and out of that, the country's outbound shipments declined in 134 destinations.
Major countries where exports declined include the US, UAE, China, Bangladesh, and Germany.
Countries where exports grew include the Netherlands, UK, Saudi Arabia.
As per GTRI, 11 of 29 product categories including telecom, pharma and computer and electronics items, contributing to 25% of India’s exports, grew during January-June 2023, over the same period last year.
Smartphone exports trebled to $7.5 billion during January-June this year from $2.5 billion a year ago.
Srivastava said that the decline in merchandise exports happened despite appreciating Indian Rupee.
He said the world trade outlook for 2023 is weak due to a number of factors, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, high inflation, tighter monetary policy, and financial uncertainty.
However, he cautioned that these factors will soon be overshadowed by a spate of
