NEW DELHI: India’s goods trade deficit narrowed to $30.2 billion in Sept, from $33 billion a year ago, as exports grew 23% to $44.4 billion, while imports rose 8% to $74.6 billion.On a cumulative basis too, the trade deficit for goods and services narrowed to $13.3 billion in Sept, improving from $14.2 billion a year ago, as growth in exports outpaced the imports growth during the month. Data released by the commerce department Thursday showed that exports stood at $80.8 billion, while monthly imports remained at $94 billion for the month.Sept marked the second straight month of over 20% export growth, powered by a surge in shipments of electronics (70% jump to $5.3 billion, engineering goods (21% to over $12 billion) and petroleum products (32% to $6.2 billion). Exports are maintaining their growth trend, said commerce secretary Rajesh Agarwal.On the import front, gold and fertiliser provided much-needed relief, partly due to cooling global prices. Fertiliser imports fell 22.2% to $1.8 billion, while high duties took the sheen off yellow metal shipments, at least through the official channels, with imports falling 81% to $1.8 billion. Silver too fell 49% to 665 million.There was no respite from high electronic imports, which jumped 51.5% to almost $15 billion, while high oil prices meant crude shipments were 31% higher at $18.3 billion.Countries like Singapore, the US, and Malaysia recorded strong positive growth as top monthly export destinations.Trade with China rose about 29%to $91.8 billion in April-Sept, making Beijing the largest trading partner in the first half, with the US ranked second. Exports to China rose 36% to $11 billion, while imports grew 27.8%to 80.3 billion.
✍️ Vikrant Kharwar
Vikrant Kharwar is the Founder and Editor of News Us Media. He writes about trending news, sports, entertainment, technology, and viral stories. His goal is to make news simple, informative, and easy to understand for readers across the United States and around the world.
