Exports post 4 per cent growth in May this year

The two-digit growth in April, however, helped bolster the overall export growth during the first two months of the current fiscal which notched a healthy 10.46 per cent growth at $7.44 billion as against $6.74 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier. Similarly, imports during April-May 2002 posted a decline of 3.69 per cent at $8.44 billion, leading to an improvement in trade deficit to $994.94 million, close to half the level of $2023.99 million during April-may 2001-02. Imports during the month of May, however, registered a decline of close to six per cent at $4.40 billion as against $4.67 billion in 2001, an official release said here. The decline in imports coupled with the increase in exports help contain the trade deficit to $637.03 million as compared to $1045.02 million in May 2001.

During the month of April this year, India’s import of 300 sensitive items registered a decline of close to four per cent mainly on account of a sharp drop in imports of edible oil, cotton and silk products. Imports of the 300 tariff lines was pegged at Rs 688 crore during April as against Rs 714 crore in the same month a year earlier, a negative growth of 3.72 per cent, the official release said. As per provisional data released by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade here, the dip was mainly attributed to a significant decline in edible oil imports which fell to Rs 342 crore compared to Rs 416.54 crore in 2001.

A significant feature of the edible oil import is that while import of palm crude oil went up during the period, that of refined soya bean and palm oil went down leading to better utilisation of the processing capacity in the country.