India’s trade deficit at five-month high of $22.1 billion

India’s merchandise exports fell 10.3% to $34.98 billion in May, 2023, while imports contracted at a slower 6.6% rate to $57.1 billion, lifting the trade deficit to a five-month high of $22.1 billion. 

India’s merchandise exports fell 10.3% to $34.98 billion in May, 2023, while imports contracted at a slower 6.6% rate to $57.1 billion, lifting the trade deficit to a five-month high of $22.1 billion. 

May’s exports were just 0.8% over April’s six-month low for outbound shipments’ value, even as imports spurted 13.8% sequentially in May from April’s 15-month low figure – which has been revised upward slightly to $50.15 billion from $49.9 billion estimated earlier. 

This is the first time that the goods trade deficit, which had hit a 20-month low i $15.46 billion in April, has crossed the $20 billion mark since December 2022. 

Cumulatively, the first two months of 2023-24 have recorded a 11.4% decline in merchandise exports and a 10.24% dip in the import bill. Goods shipments’ value had grown 6.7% last year to cross $450 billion, while imports had hit $714 billion, reflecting a 16.5% rise from 2021-22 levels.