In May 2014, the country's merchandise exports had stood at USD 27.99 billion. The last time exports registered a positive growth was in November last year when it expanded 7.27 per cent.
The main exporting sectors including petroleum products, gems and jewellery, engineering and chemicals reported a negative growth in May.
Exporters expressed serious concerns over the continuous decline and said the government should act fast in taking measures to help arrest the dip.
The prime reason continues to be low prices of crude, metal and commodity and slowdown in the main western markets, he said.
Also Read
Imports, too, declined by 16.52 per cent for the month to USD 32.75 billion. It was steepest since February 2014 when imports contracted by 17.09 per cent.
Trade deficit narrowed to a three month low of USD 10.4 billion in the month under review compared with USD 11.23 billion in May 2014, according to data released by the commerce ministry. It was USD 6.85 billion in February.
Gold imports, however, grew 10.47 per cent to USD 2.42 billion in May.
During April-May, the first two months of the 2015-16 fiscal, exports fell 17.21 per cent to USD 44.4 billion. Imports declined 12.2 per cent to USD 65.8 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of USD 21.39 billion.
In March, the last month of the previous fiscal 2014-15, the country's exports had contracted 21 per cent, the biggest fall in the last six years.