Merchandise exports, in FY 08, stood at $155.4 billion as against $126.4 billion in the previous fiscal, mainly driven by a huge jump in engineering goods, gems and jewellery and petroleum products, RBI said in its monthly bulletin.
RBI said the growth in exports, during FY 08, was close to the average export growth of 23.5 per cent recorded during the previous five years, indicating a strong growth momentum, the apex bank said.
Of the total exports, agriculture and allied products, engineering goods, gems and jewllery and petroleum products alone contributed 68 per cent of the export growth during April-January FY 08, RBI said.
However, the growth in exports of petroleum products sharply decelerated to 36.7 per cent as compared to 66.7 per cent in the year-ago period.
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Meanwhile, manufactured goods exhibited moderation in export growth in April-January period owing to deceleration in the exports of chemicals, engineering goods and textiles.
Country's imports, during the period, registered a higher growth at 26.9 per cent as against 24.5 per cent a year ago, on the back of higher growth in both oil and non-oil imports, RBI said in the bulletin.