New Delhi (Agency): In June 2023, India’s total exports are estimated to be worth $60.09 billion, a dip of 13.16% compared to June 2022, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Despite this, various sectors have seen significant growth in exports, and there has been a substantial improvement in the trade deficit.
There was a 28.26% improvement in the trade deficit from April to June 2023, dropping to $22.59 billion from $31.49 billion in the same period in 2022. The merchandise trade deficit also improved by 7.9% at $57.6 billion in the period from April to June 2023, as compared to $62.6 billion in the corresponding period in 2022.
Several sectors saw a substantial rise in exports. Electronic goods witnessed an impressive growth of 45.4% in June 2023 and 47.1% from April to June 2023 compared to the same periods in 2022. Iron ore exports increased dramatically by 1664.3% in June 2023 compared to June 2022, and 35% from April to June 2023 over the same period in 2022.
Exports of agricultural products also registered robust growth, with spices, fruits and vegetables, oil seeds, and oil meals increasing by 18.2%, 14.1%, 25.1%, and 33.2% respectively in April-June 2023 over April-June 2022. Furthermore, drugs and pharma export growth registered 5.13% and 5.10% in June 2023 and April-June 2023 respectively, compared to the same periods last year. Handicrafts, excluding handmade carpets, saw an export growth of 5.14% in June 2023 compared to June 2022.
Despite this progress, there has been a decline in overall trade in India. India’s total exports and imports in April-June 2023 exhibited a negative growth of 7.29% and 10.18% over April-June 2022, respectively. This drop aligns with the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report for June 2023, which predicts that the global economy will slow substantially in 2023 to 2.1%, after growing at 3.1% in the previous year.
Nonetheless, the ministry has reported that enabling policies have resulted in visible growth in electronics, mobile manufacturing, and pharmaceutical sectors. However, textile exports continue to decline in June 2023 due to subdued demand from major economies.
Despite the global slowdown, India’s trade performance has shown resilience and improvements in several sectors, showcasing its potential to thrive amid global economic changes.