EXPORTS DOWN 4.16% IN MAY

New Delhi, July 2: Global slowdown pulled down India’s exports by 4.16 per cent to $25.68 billion in May. According to the provisional data released by the commerce ministry, imports dipped by a sharper pace of 7.36 per cent to $41.9 billion.

The contraction in imports reflects slowdown in fresh investments as inward shipments of plant and machinery fell by eight per cent during the month under review.

The commerce Secretary S.R. Rao said that contraction of demand in India’s traditional markets particularly in euro zone economies was hurting exports.

“The decline in exports is mainly due to the global slowdown and deceleration in domestic manu- facturing. Many countries are facing huge setback in exports and India is no exception to it,” Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president Rafeeque Ahmed said.

Mr Ahmed said that exporters should explore new markets, find new buyers in the existing markets and take full advantage of fall in the rupee. “There is also a need for the exporters to increase their productivity through efficiency and cost cutting measures,” he added.

Decline in exports in May were particularly witnessed in top exporting commodities like petroleum products (-26 per cent), engineering goods (-15.67 per cent) and gems and jewellery (-9 per cent). — PTI