)

India’s goods exports in February 2022 increased 25.1 per cent (year-on-year) to $ 34.57 billion fuelled by sectors such as engineering goods, gems & jewellery, petroleum products, electronics and chemicals.

Goods imports in February 2022 posted a sharper increase of 36.07 per cent to $ 55.45 billion widening the month’s trade deficit to $20.88 billion, 59 per cent higher than in February last year, according to quick estimates released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Monday.

Imports of items such as petroleum products, electronics, coal and fertilisers registered a spike during February 2022, with petroleum imports increasing 69 per cent to $15.28 billion, while import of gold declined 9.65 per cent to $4.8 billion.

Goods exports for the period April-February 2021-22 were 46.09 per cent higher at $374.81 billion, close to the target of $400 billion fixed by the government for fiscal 2021-22.

Earlier this month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had expressed hope that exports would cross the annual target of $400 billion, and would clock around $410 billion in 2021-22.

Imports of goods for April-February 2021-22 were 59.33 per cent higher at $ 550.56 billion. The trade deficit in the eleven-month period almost doubled to $175.75 billion.

According to forecast made by Exim bank, exports in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal would be around $ 111 billion which would take up the annual export figure to around $415 billion.

The import of petroleum and crude would be something to watch out for as the country’s oil import bill had already accounts for 26 per cent of the total imports as of April-February 2022, similar to the share that was prevailing in the pre-pandemic year 2019-20. “While this is not an alarming ratio, the continuous growth in international crude prices would dent our balance of trade next year,”pointed out Prahalathan Iyer, Chief General Manager, Research & Analysis, India Exim Bank.

Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in February 2022 were 19.01 per cent higher at $26.75 billion, and their imports posted a growth of 32.04 per cent to $31.70 billion.

Disruptions in demand and production caused due to the Covid-19 pandemic led to a decline of 7 per cent in exports in 2020-21 to $292 billion. However, with a revival in global demand, exports have sprung back on the growth track in the current fiscal.