India's Exports Decline by 2.6% in Year-on-Year Comparison for September

13 Oct, 2023

India's Exports Decline by 2.6% in Year-on-Year Comparison for September

India's overseas shipments experienced a 2.6 percent year-on-year decline, contracting to $34.47 billion in September. This drop was mirrored in imports, which shrank by 15 percent, reaching $53.84 billion in September 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. As a result of the more substantial decrease in imports, India's trade deficit hit a five-month low of $19.37 billion in September, marking a year-on-year decrease of over 30 percent from the $27.98 billion recorded during the same period the previous year.

India's exports have been on a downward trend each month due to global challenges and economic downturns in its major export destinations, affecting New Delhi's shipments.

However, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal sees a positive note in September's trade data, as non-petroleum and non-gems & jewelry merchandise exports recorded a 1.86 percent increase.

Barthwal stated, "Our declining export trend is turning around as green shoots appear. We should definitely see positive export growth in the remaining six months." He added, "The year-on-year export gap, which was in double digits, has significantly reduced. There is optimism for exports in the coming months."

According to Barthwal, the weekly trends reported by the Ministry of Commerce for October have already shown positive signs.

"Despite the WTO reducing the global growth rate forecast from 1.7 to 0.8 percent, India's exports can continue to grow," he affirmed.

On the other hand, services exports amounted to $29.37 billion, showing a slight uptick compared to the corresponding period the previous year when exports stood at $29.22 billion. Conversely, services imports witnessed a notable decline, dropping from $16.27 billion in September of the previous year to $14.91 billion this year.

During the first half of the 2023-24 fiscal year, exports were down by 8.7 percent year-on-year, while imports declined by 12.2 percent. Rising exports were observed in sectors such as rubber, dye intermediaries, leather footwear components, print, varnish, allied products, drugs, drug intermediaries, and inorganic chemicals. Demand for Indian goods in key markets such as the United States, China, Bangladesh, and Singapore has seen a significant decrease in recent months. One strategy to counter the decline in exports has been diversifying India's export portfolio.