Goods exports increase 9%, imports 8% in May

Goods exports rose 9% to $38 billion in May, while imports were 7.7% higher at nearly $62 billion, pushing up India’s trade deficit to $23.8 billion, highest in seven months. Exports growth has been uneven and the latest numbers pegged the growth at the highest in three months, with Govt hopeful of the trend continuing & feels that this positive trend will continue. The inflation in advanced economies is slowing down and it would help further push up the purchasing power, that will raise demand for imports. One should not consider trade deficit per se as bad, as long as the FDI flowing in, foreign exchange coming in and balancing it through other means.

Secondly, look at the growing services exports, then one should not unnecessarily be worried about the trade deficit in merchandise. Petroleum products, electronics, largely mobile phones, pharmaceuticals and plastics were among the sectors that saw the highest growth. On the import front, pulses imports surged 2.8 times to $371 million in May as the govt shipped large quantities of dal to cool down domestic prices and rein in inflation.