Exports growth at 17.48% in Feb

5-YEAR HIGH

INDIA’S EXPORTS grew at a fiveyear high of 17.48 per cent to $24.5 billion in February on account of surge in shipments of petroleum, engineering and chemicals.

The trade deficit widened as well to $8.89 billion as imports expanded. “In continuation with the revival exhibited by exports since September 2016, exports during February for the first time exhibited a double-digit positive growth,” the commerce ministry said in a statement. The previous high in export growth was recorded at 36.3 per cent in September 2011. The last time the double digit growth was witnessed in June 2014, when the shipments rose by 10.2 per cent.

Commenting on the growth figures, exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said going by the current trend, “we are definitely expected to reach around $270 billion of exports this fiscal”.

Imports were up 21.76 per cent to $33.38 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $8.89 billion as against $6.57 billion in February last year. During the Aprilfebruary period of the current fiscal, exports have grown by 2.52 per cent to $245.4 billion. Imports, however, dipped 3.67 per cent to $340.7 billion.

Trade deficit during the 11month period stood at $95.28 billion as against $114.3 billion in the same period of last fiscal.

Oil imports grew by 60 per cent to $7.68 billion in February. Non-oil imports too increased by 13.65 per cent to $25.7 billion.

Gold imports too jumped manifold to $3.48 billion in February as against $1.4 billion in the same month last fiscal.

Oil imports during Aprilfebruary, 2016-17 were valued at $76.74 billion, about 1.76 per cent lower than the year-ago period. Non-oil imports during the period too declined by 4.22 per cent to $263.95 billion.