Exports $19 bn short of target

Commerce and industry minister Murasoli Maran is optimistic of hitting the target and even exceeding it, going by the trends up to October this year when exports recorded a consistently double digit growth.

The exports posted a 30.04 per cent growth in April, 30.23 per cent in May, 27.55 per cent in June, 16.46 per cent in July, 17.46 per cent in August, 24.96 per cent in September and 16.81 per cent in October. During this period, the exports were at $3,422.62 million, $3446.01 million, $3,325.71 million, $3,554.01 million, $3,601.98 million, $3,858.67 million and $3,685.22 million respectively.

Last fiscal (third year of the Ninth Plan) saw India’s exports posting a 11.6 per cent growth, exceeding the target of 11.3 per cent. In the previous two years, the exports recorded a growth of 12.66 per cent in 1998-99 and 18 per cent in 1997-98.

With the imports also showing a rising trend, the trade deficit shot up from $6.48 billion in 1997-98 to $9.17 billion in 1998-99 but fell to $8.82 billion in 1999-2000. During April-October 2000, the deficit stood at $5.25 billion, which was lower than the figure of $5.79 billion recorded in April-October 1999.

During the Eighth Plan, the exports registered a growth of 3.8 per cent in 1992-93, 20 per cent in 1993-94, 18.3 per cent in 1994-95, 20.8 per cent in 1995-96 and minus 4.1 per cent in 1996-97.

During the first year of the Seventh Plan (1987-98), the exports posted a growth of 24.1 per cent. The growth rate, however, fell to 15.6 per cent in the following year but increased to 19 per cent in 1989-90 and again dropped to 9.1 per cent in 1990-91, the last year of the Seventh Plan.