Exports growth slows further in August

On the export front, engineering goods, one of the fastest growing sectors in recent months, reported a 14.2% dip in shipments to little over $8.2 billion in August

India’s merchandise exports grew 1.6% in August to $33.92 billion, while imports jumped 37.3% from August 2021 levels to $61.90 billion during the month. 

The trade deficit in August is at $27.98 billion, lower than the $28.7 billion estimated earlier this month, but nearly 139% higher than a year ago and still the second-highest on record after the $30 billion goods trade deficit this July.   

These numbers reflect an improvement from earlier estimates that had indicated a 1.15% contraction in the value of outbound shipments in August. Preliminary trade data for July had also showed a 0.8% dip in exports which was later revised to a 2.1% uptick. 

Imports were above $60 billion for sixth month in a row, with coal imports more than doubling from a year ago to cross $4.5 billion in August while petroleum imports nearly doubled from $9.4 billion in August 2021 to $17.7 billion last month.   

Gold imports dropped 46.7% to $3.5 billion in August from $6.7 billion a year ago, but Silver imports saw an alarming 4,318% jump from a mere $15.5 million last year to $684.3 million this August. 

Also read: Exports likely to record reasonable level of growth in 2022-23: Goyal