Exports plunge 22% in June, steepest in last three years

In June 2023, merchandise imports declined 17.5 per cent to $53.10 billion amid softening global commodity prices.

Apart from weak global demand, officials and experts also said that exports recorded a decline due to a high base. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said the trade growth has been affected due to a slowdown in major economies including the US and Europe and that tightening of monetary policies by the developed nations is affecting manufacturing and businesses.

“There is a slowdown in terms of GDP growth. There are also inflationary pressures in these economies due to the lingering impact of supply chain disruptions, as well as the Ukraine-Russia conflict,” he said.

Export promotion councils are expecting the demand to pick up in the coming months.

Cumulatively during April-June, exports fell by 15.13 per cent to $102.68 billion, while imports too declined by 12.67 per cent to $160.28 billion. The trade deficit during April-June 2023 improved to $57.6 billion from $62.6 billion in the same period last year.

Among exports, 21 of the 30 key sectors recorded contraction in June including petroleum products, plastic, ready-made garments of all textiles, engineering, chemicals, gems and jewellery, leather and marine. However, exports of electronic goods grew by 45.36 per cent in June to $2.43 billion.

Oil imports in June contracted by 33.8 per cent to $12.54 billion, while during April-June, they fell 18.52 per cent to $43.4 billion. However, gold imports in June rose 82.38 per cent to about $4.99 billion, while they dipped by 7.54 per cent to $9.7 billion in April-June.

Except for Russia and Switzerland, imports decreased in value from the top ten source nations for India. Imports from Russia grew to $16.04 billion during April-June from $6.91 billion in the same period last year. Imports from Switzerland rose to $5 billion during April-June from $4.11 billion in the same period last year. Meanwhile, imports from China declined to $23.6 billion in the first quarter of this fiscal as compared to $24.31 billion in April-June 2022. The inbound shipments from the UAE too declined to $10.31 billion in the first quarter of this fiscal as compared to $13.55 billion in April-June 2022.