Exports rise by 17% to $37.94 bn in June; trade deficit widens to $25.63 bn

Cumulative exports in April-June 2022-23 rose by about 22% to $116.77 bn

Exports
Representational image
Press Trust of India New Delhi
3 min read Last Updated : Jul 04 2022 | 8:32 PM IST
India's merchandise exports in June rose by 16.78 per cent year-on-year to $37.94 billion while the trade deficit ballooned to a record $25.63 billion on account of a steep increase in gold and crude oil imports, according to the government's preliminary data released on Monday.
The export growth in June moderated from 20.55 per cent in May and 48.34 per cent in June 2021.

During the month under review, exports of engineering, pharmaceutical and plastic products recorded negative growth.

Imports expanded by 51 per cent to $63.58 billion in June compared to the year-ago month, the data showed.

The trade deficit stood at $9.61 billion in June 2021.

Cumulative exports in April-June 2022-23 rose by about 22.22 per cent to $116.77 billion while imports increased 47.31 per cent to $187.02 billion during the period.

The trade deficit during the first three months of this fiscal widened to $70.25 billion from $31.42 billion in the year-ago period.

Crude oil imports in June soared 94 per cent to $20.73 billion. Coal and coke imports surged to $6.41 billion in June 2022 as against $1.88 billion in June 2021.

Gold imports during the month rose sharply by 169.5 per cent to $2.61 billion.

On the exports front, outbound shipments of petroleum products rose by 98 per cent to $7.82 billion. Gems and jewellery shipments increased by 19.41 per cent to $3.37 billion.

Commenting on the numbers, ICRA Ltd Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said that despite an expected fall in gold imports, the merchandise trade deficit widened further to a "worrying" level in June, with a sequential dip in exports.

"With a steady uptick in the size of the merchandise trade deficit over the course of the quarter, we expect the current account deficit to more than double to $30 billion in Q1 FY'2023, from the modest $13 billion in the previous quarter," she said.

The export growth was constrained by the base effect as well as the contraction posted by engineering goods, drugs and pharma, cotton yarn, she added.

"We expect the merchandise trade deficit to remain in excess of $20 billion in the remainder of 2022. However, robust services surpluses will partly absorb the shock. We expect the current account deficit to print in the range of $100-105 billion in FY'2023," Nayar said.

FIEO President A Sakthivel demanded further push to value-added exports, augmenting container manufacturing, and developing an Indian shipping line of global repute.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Quarterly Starter

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

Save 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online

  • Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

Topics :Trade exportsIndia trade deficit

First Published: Jul 04 2022 | 6:48 PM IST

Next Story