Exports of the top five sectors including engineering and petroleum fell by about 31 per cent to $13.6 billion in September due to a slump in global demand.
Exports from these sectors stood at $19.7 billion in the same month of last year. They had accounted for about 65 per cent of the total merchandise exports in 2014-15.
Engineering exports growth turned negative (—)22.81 per cent), petroleum (—60.35 per cent), textiles (—12 per cent) and gems and jewellery (—18.81 per cent) recorded negative growth during the September, according to the provisional data of the Commerce Ministry.
Only the pharmaceuticals sector managed to register a growth of 9 per cent in September, it stated.
During the last financial year, exports of these segments stood at $202.15 billion while the total exports were $310.5 billion.
Expressing concern over the continuous dip in exports, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the Government should immediately announce steps such as extending interest subsidy benefits to contain the dip in exports.
Decline in exports has been instrumental in dragging down India’s overall merchandise exports.
Contracting for the 10th month in a row, India’s merchandise exports dipped 24.33 per cent in September to $21.84 billion, due mainly to a steep fall in shipments of petroleum products, iron ore, and engineering goods, amid tepid global demand.
The Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry held a meeting in Goa recently to review India’s exports performance.
In the meeting, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the concern that China has been making efforts to stall India’s exports through non-tariff barriers such as phytosanitary stipulations and standardisation issues.
She has assured the committee that the Government was fully geared up to meet the challenges through exports on account of a slowdown in the global economy.
The total exports in the past four financial years have been hovering at around $300 billion.
The continuous decline in exports is expected to impact jobs and put pressure on the current account deficit.