(MENAFN- KNN India) India’s merchandise exports maintained its stubborn trend for the eighteenth straight month in May, although the rate of fall was lowest since November 2014.
Exports contracted 0.79 per cent to USD 22.17 billion in May, against USD 22.34 bn in May 2015, according to an official release.
Cumulative exports for the first two months of 2016-2017 (April-May) were USD 42.7 bn as compared to USD 44.4 bn for the comparable period a year before.
May also saw imports declining, by 13.2 per cent to USD 28.4 bn as compared to the year-ago period when it was USD 32.7 bn. Cumulative imports in April-May were USD 53.8 bn, from USD 65.8 bn the previous year.
Import of crude oil continued its long decline, falling by 30.5 per cent in May to USD 5.9 bn as compared to USD 8.5 bn a year before. That brought down the total trade deficit to USD 6.27 bn for these two months; it was USD 10.4 bn in the comparative period last year.
Gold imports continued to fall by a large margin for a fourth month, going down by 39.1 per cent to USD 1.47 bn as compared to the USD 2.4 bn of imports a year before.
Non-oil, non-gold imports, taken as a proxy for indicator of industrial demand in an economy, declined by 3.5 per cent to USD 21.4 bn in May, from USD 21.8 bn a year before. It had fallen by 17.6 per cent in April.
Talking to KNN, C.K.Mohan, General Secretary, TamilNadu Small and Tiny Industries Association, highlighted certain challenges that exporters face.
“Fluctuations in exchange rates are majorly responsible for the Indian export dip. Weaker global demand is also a major spoil sport for our business. “
He further added, “Although these are international constraints that are bound to change, domestically also the government should make easier norms for export business. Ease of doing business and lack of infrastructure are certain issues that need to be immediately addressed. With good infrastructure and easy norms in place, India can also face global trade challenges.”
Ajay Sahay, Federation of Indian Export Organisation, said, “Challenges to Indian trade are similar to the global trade as the fluctuautions in global trade are translated into the fluctuations in Indian trade. If globally it’s strong, Indian trade will also flourish.”
He also stressed on domestic factors having a dampening effect on Indian exports. (KNN/ TL)