Trade deficit declines to 12-months low of US$ 9.85 billion in February 2020
India's merchandise exports increased 2.9% to US$ 27.65 billion in February 2020 over a year ago, while snapping consistent decline for last six straight months. Meanwhile, merchandise imports also moved up 2.5% to US$ 37.50 billion after continuous decline for last eight straight months. The trade deficit rose marginally by 1.3% to US$ 9.85 billion in February 2020 from US$ 9.60 billion in February 2019, while dipped sharply to 12-months low on sequential basis from US$ 15.17 billion in January 2020.Oil imports increased 14.3% to US$ 10.76 billion, while the non-oil imports fell 1.6% to US$ 26.74 billion in February 2020 over February 2019. The share of oil imports in total imports was 28.7% in February 2020, compared with 25.9% in February 2019.
Among the non-oil imports, the major contributors to the overall growth in imports were pearls, precious & semi-precious stones imports rising 13.2% to US$ 2.44 billion, electrical & non-electrical machinery 9.0% to US$ 3.36 billion, vegetable oil 26.1% to US$ 0.89 billion, transport equipment 6.1% to US$ 1.79 billion and non-ferrous metals 6.8% to US$ 1.09 billion, while imports of chemical material & products also increased 4.4% to US$ 0.59 billion, professional instrument, optical goods etc 4.3% to US$ 0.40 billion, medicinal & pharmaceutical products 1.9% to US$ 0.47 billion and artificial resins, plastic materials etc 0.5% to US$ 1.17 billion.
However, the imports of iron & steel declined 26.2% to US$ 1.00 billion, organic & inorganic chemicals 14.7% to US$ 1.49 billion, electronic goods 6.7% to US$ 3.52 billion, gold 8.5% to US$ 2.36 billion and metaliferrous ores & other minerals 38.6% to US$ 0.30 billion. Further, the imports of coal, coke & briquettes etc also fell 8.6% to US$ 1.83 billion, crude & manufactured fertilizers 16.1% to US$ 0.42 billion and machine tools 14.3% to US$ 0.33 billion in February 2020.
On exports front, the engineering goods recorded an increase in exports by 8.7% to US$ 7.24 billion, followed by electronic goods 37.1% to US$ 1.17 billion, petroleum products 10.1% to US$ 3.39 billion, organic & inorganic chemicals 16.3% to US$ 2.01 billion, drugs & pharmaceuticals 8.3% to US$ 1.75 billion, and iron ore 37.9% to US$ 0.18 billion. The exports also moved up for man-made yarn/fabrics/made-ups etc by 10.6% to US$ 0.43 billion, ceramic products & glassware 14.6% to US$ 0.26 billion, spices 6.6% to US$ 0.29 billion, and marine products 1.7% to US$ 0.44 billion.
However, the exports declined for gems & jewellery by 20.1% to US$ 3.02 billion, RMG of all textiles 4.5% to US$ 1.47 billion, meat, dairy & poultry products 17.2% to US$ 0.24 billion, rice 5.3% to US$ 0.70 billion and mica, coal & other ores, minerals including processed minerals 7.1% to US$ 0.33 billion in February 2020. Further, the exports of leather & leather products also fell 4.0% to US$ 0.38 billion, cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products etc 1.3% to US$ 0.87 billion, plastic & linoleum 1.5% to US$ 0.61 billion and fruits & vegetables 0.7% to US$ 0.29 billion in February 2020.
Merchandise exports in Rupees increased 3.3% to Rs 197646 crore, while imports rose 2.9% to Rs 268064 crore in February 2020 over February 2019. The trade deficit rose to Rs 70418 crore in February 2020 compared with Rs 68340 crore in February 2019.
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India's merchandise exports fell 1.6% to US$ 292.91 billion, while merchandise imports declined 7.0% to US$ 436.03 billion in April-February 2020. The decline in imports was driven by a 7.4% fall in oil imports to US$ 119.42 billion. India's merchandise trade deficit eased to US$ 143.12 billion in April-February 2020 from US$ 170.85 billion in April-February 2019.
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