The oil exports puzzle

India's non-oil, non-gems & jewellery exports rise 11%, but a 24% rise in gold imports and slow increase in petro product exports are worrying

The data on India’s merchandise trade in 2017-18, released last week, shows that India’s exports have recovered at $303 billion, clocking a 10 per cent growth rate over the previous year. The growth rate in 2016-17 was almost half of that at 5 per cent. 

On the imports front, the growth rate in 2017-18 was much higher at 20 per cent, compared to just 0.5 per cent growth during 2016-17. Consequently, the trade deficit in 2017-18 at $157 billion increased by over 44 per cent over that of the previous year.

Trade numbers always tell a far more nuanced story when they