India’s imports and exports posted considerable growth for the month of January compared to January last. December had set the trend for growth, signaling the end of recessive times for world economies.
India imported $24.7 billion worth of goods compared to $18.22 billion during January 2009. This is a whopping 35.5% increase. However, the country’s exports did not do as well as imports, but still managed to grow by 11.5% during the same period. India exported $14.34 billion worth of merchandise in January, while the figure was $12.86 for January 2009.
The November and December growth figures for export was 18.2% and 9.3%; this coming after negative growth for the previous thirteen months. Import growth rate got out of the red in December after a long gap of 11 months.
The amazing growth in imports and above-average growth in exports has further widened the chasm of trade deficit. According to official data released yesterday, the YoY trade deficit figures have doubled. While the trade deficit stood at $5.3 billion in January 2009, it almost doubled to $10.36 billion in January 2010.
However, experts are not overly worried about the ballooning trade deficit. A. Sakthivel, President of the Federation of India Export Organizations said, “The figures are clearly reflecting that the exports are coming on the track.”
FIEO director general Ajay Sahai also is optimistic. He said, “The trade data shows that import growth is in tandem with the performance of our manufacturing sector which is growing at 15%-16%.”
The sudden jump in imports is mostly due to the import of raw materials and capital goods for power projects. Among exports, vegetables, fruits, marine products and tobacco did exceptionally well.
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