Can a rebound in exports help the Indian economy recover? Indian exports, as Table 1 shows, are heavily dependent, in value, on products like jewellery and petrochemicals, with substantial imported content. Further, as Table 2 shows, the most recent quarter - which has seen a substantial depreciation in the rupee - might have seen a decline in the share of petrochemicals, jewellery and gold in total exports but the difference has largely been made up by diamond exports and, to an extent, excess rice and wheat, perhaps a product of the government's procurement policy.
As Table 3 shows, the value of petrochemicals and jewellery-sector exports has only grown. Iron ore is no longer a significant export; its place has been taken by water-intensive rice. Medicine exports have seen a jump, at least in dollar terms.
Table 4 reveals the extent to which the pattern of sectors' share in Indian exports has changed in 15 years. Petroleum products have become a large component. Interestingly, the share of electrical apparatus has also jumped, as has that of beef and medicine. But the price-sensitive textile and garment industry is no longer that significant an export player.
Finally, as Table 5 shows, in the past 15 years, India's exports have seen a massive reorientation away from the traditional developed markets of Europe, North America or Japan/Korea to Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf. (Click here for table)
