Exports up 20% in April

51% rise in oil imports, trade deficit at $1.74 bn

India's exports grew 19.95 per cent to $5.01 billion during April this year due to a spurt in exports of iron ore, plastics, gems and jewellery, tea, coffee, oil meals and man-made and cotton yarn.

According to the latest trade data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Tuesday, imports to the country grew 20.78 per cent to $6.75 billion largely on account of a 51.37 per cent jump in oil imports due to hardening of international crude prices.

Since January crude oil prices have increased by over $6 a barrel. Non-oil imports were estimated to have grown 10 per cent to $4.13 billion at the end of April, the provisional data said.

India's trade deficit widened during the first month of the fiscal reaching $1.74 billion compared to $1.41 billion during April 2003.

India's exports improved despite appreciation of the rupee to the dollar which was evident when exports were measured on rupee basis.

According to the government, exports grew 11.23 per cent in rupee terms to reach Rs 22,010 crore during April this year.

Commerce department officials said that iron ore exports surged over 150 per cent while tea, coffee and gems and jewellery exports were estimated to have grown by over 40 per cent.

The growth in April comes on the back of a 17 per cent rise during the last fiscal which resulted in India's exports crossing the $ 60 billion mark.

Export growth had picked up towards the end of the last fiscal partly due to a change in the data collection mechanism.

Officials, however, discounted the effect of the mechanism in the April trade data.

The slowdown in non-oil imports was not a cause for worry since it could be a temporary phenomenon, officials said.