Exports remain flat at $33 bn in August; trade deficit widens to $28.68 bn

India’s exports contracted by 1.15 per cent to USD 33 billion and trade deficit more than doubled to 28.68 billion in August, a preliminary data released by the commerce ministry said on Saturday.

Trade deficit in August 2021 stood at 11.71 billion.

Imports rose by 37 per cent to USD 61.68 billion in August this year.

Commerce secretary B V R Subrahmanyam, however, said that the country’s overall exports are expected to cross USD 450 billion during the current fiscal.

“In goods exports, we will be crossing USD 450 billion this fiscal,” Subrahmanyam said.

During April-August 2022-23, exports registered a growth of 17.12 per cent to USD 192.59 billion. Imports during the five-month period of this fiscal grew by 45.64 per cent to USD 317.81 billion.

Trade deficit widened to 125.22 billion in April-August this fiscal as against USD 53.78 billion in the same period last year.

Oil imports in August jumped by 86.44 per cent to USD 17.6 billion. However, gold imports dipped by 47.54 per cent to USD 3.51 billion, the data showed.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor