Netherlands, UK, and Australia Drive India's Export Growth from April to October

17 Nov, 2023

Netherlands, UK, and Australia Drive India's Export Growth from April to October

Preliminary data from the commerce ministry reveals that within India’s top 10 export destinations, the Netherlands, the UK, and Australia emerged as pivotal drivers of shipments in the initial seven months (April-October) of the fiscal year 2023-24. Concurrently, exports to most other nations remained in negative terrain.

Amidst this landscape, exports to China experienced a marginal 0.8% growth during the same period. Notably, India's overall exports showcased positive spikes in August (3.8%) and October (6.2%), a promising signal according to the commerce department despite a 7% contraction in exports for the April-October duration.

The surge in October exports was attributed by experts to a more favorable comparison against the preceding year, with shipments declining sequentially from 34.5 billion in September to 33.6 billion in October.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) revised its forecast for world merchandise trade volume in 2023, reducing it to a mere 0.8% from the earlier 1.7% due to a persistent downturn in goods trade. However, there was a marginal uptick in the projection for 2024 to 3.3% from the prior 3.2%.

While specific figures for October remain unavailable, data for April-September highlights India's exports to Australia, majorly driven by petroleum products ($2.8 billion) and medicines for retail sale ($188 million). Similarly, shipments to the UK during the same period were propelled by items like petroleum products ($743 million), smartphones ($494 million), medicines for retail sale ($261 million), and turbo jets ($211 million).

The Netherlands, serving as a crucial trans-shipment hub for the EU, notably imported petroleum products ($5.6 billion) from India post the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Additionally, key export items to the Netherlands comprised smartphones ($484 million), medicines for retail sale ($161.5 million), and aluminum ($159 million).

Although April witnessed contractions in exports to seven out of India's top 10 destinations, excluding the Netherlands, the UK, and Saudi Arabia, October saw export reductions only to Singapore. Notably, there was double-digit export growth to the USA, the UAE, the Netherlands, China, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, and Australia.

India's imports contracted by 8.9% in the April-October duration, although October witnessed a surge of 12.3%, primarily driven by a nearly twofold increase in gold imports.

Specifically, imports from Russia and the Netherlands were the only ones exhibiting positive growth during the April-October period, attributing to India's reliance on crude oil and gold, respectively, from these nations.