Disaggregated export figures for the first quarter of 2002-03 show that exports of nine of the total 17 broad categories of products have declined compared to the corresponding period last year.
Exports during the first quarter, however, rose by 10.34 per cent to $11.41 billion. Exports of textiles, which constitute 21 per cent of the total exports, have fallen by 1.67 per cent to $2.4 billion, according to disaggregated export figures released by the commerce ministry.
Exports of gems and jewellery, which account for 17.6 per cent of total exports, have shown a healthy 37 per cent growth during the first quarter, while exports of chemicals and related products have increased by 8.11 per cent to touch $1.78 billion.
Exports of engineering goods have registered a 15 per cent growth to touch $1.5 billion, while those of agriculture and allied products have declined by 4 per cent compared to the April-June 2001-02 period.
In the latter category, exports of fresh fruits and vegetables have fallen by 95 per cent, while that of floriculture products rose by 64.5 per cent. Exports of tea and coffee have fallen by 15 per cent.
Exports of project goods have grown by a whopping 1,012 per cent. Against the $1 million worth of exports in the first quarter of 2001-02, project goods worth $16 million were exported in the first quarter of 2002-03.
Meanwhile, imports of crude petroleum and petroleum products, which account for 30 per cent of imports, rose by 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2002-03 compared to the same period the previous financial year. However, the overall import growth was only 1.29 per cent, up from $12.7 billion during April-June 2001-02 to $12.9 billion during April-June 2002-03.
Indicating the industrial revival, imports of machinery rose by 18.3 per cent, mainly because of a 252 per cent increase in import of transport equipment. Imports of electrical machinery, on the other hand, declined by 23 per cent to $0.12 billion. Imports of pearls, precious and semi-precious stones rose by 37 per cent, the same as the rise in level of exports.
Imports of wheat and other cereals were nil while that of foodgrain preparations rose by 55 per cent. Newsprint imports were down by 24 per cent. Raw wool imports rose by 46 per cent while imports of woollen yarn and fabrics rose by a sharp 561 per cent. Imports of computer software rose by 151 per cent during the period.
