India's merchandise exports shot up by 21.3 per cent, year-on-year, to $18 billion in October this fiscal, while import grew by 6.8 per cent, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said today.
Imports for October stood at $27.7 billion, widening the trade gap to $9.7 billion.
During April-October 2011, exports have aggregated to $121.4 billion, increasing by 26.8 per cent.
The cumulative imports for this period went up to $194.2 billion leaving a large trade gap of $72.8 billion. Imports during the first seven month of this fiscal have grown by 26 per cent.
"For the first time, you see after a long long time when exports growth cumulatively is higher than imports growth," Khullar said.
He also said almost all the sectors have reported positive growth in October, while tobacco, cashew, handicrafts and iron ore sectors have registered negative growth.