Exports declined by one percent in December, trade deficit reduced to $22 billion

Exports from India declined for the second consecutive month in December 2024 by about one percent year-on-year to $38.01 billion due to global uncertainties, while the trade deficit shrank to $21.94 billion.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, imports in December grew by about 5 percent year-on-year to US$59.95 billion. Overall, exports grew 1.6 percent to USD 321.71 billion during April-December in the current fiscal, while imports rose 5.15 percent to USD 532.48 billion.

The trade deficit, which is the difference between imports and exports, widened to USD 210.77 billion during April-December from USD 189.74 billion in the same period last fiscal. Briefing the media about the latest data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said India's exports in both goods and services are doing better than other countries.

"This shows the resilience of our exports. We have also performed better in all three-quarters of this fiscal. We are doing much better in non-petroleum exports," he told reporters here. The ministry recently held meetings with commercial branches of Indian missions in 20 countries to discuss issues affecting exports and ways to address them. These 20 countries contribute to about 60 percent of India's exports.

Barthwal in December last year said that the sectors that have recorded good growth in exports include electronics, engineering, and pharmaceuticals. When asked about the revision of gold and silver import figures for November 2024, the secretary said a committee has been formed to create a robust mechanism to publish consistent data.

The government revised the gold import figures for November 2024, reducing the number by US$ 5 billion to US$ 9.84 billion. "The figures keep getting revised...we are following the global practices of releasing the data," Barthwal said.