India’s April-August merchandise trade deficit hits $80.34 bn
17 Sep 2018
Merchandise exports from India stood at $27.84 billion (Rs1,93,624.74 crore) in August 2018, compared to $23.36 billion (Rs1,49,398.90 crore) in August 2017, showing a growth of 19.21 per cent in dollar terms and a 29.60 per cent growth in rupee terms.
Cumulative value of exports for April-August 2018-19 stood at $136.09 billion (Rs9,23,447.82 crore) against $117.19 billion (Rs7,54,218.89 crore) during April-August 2017-18, showing a positive growth of 16.13 per cent in dollar terms and a 22.44 per cent growth in rupee terms.
Exports of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery items in August 2018 stood at $20.70 billion, against $17.78 billion in August 2017, showing a growth of 16.45 per cent. Exports of these items in April-August 2018-19 stood at $99.24 billion, compared to $87.60 billion for the corresponding period in 2017-18, an increase of 13.28 per cent.
Imports in August 2018 stood at $45.24 billion (Rs3,14,597.54 crore), showing a growth of 25.41 per cent in dollar terms and an increase of 36.34 per cent in rupee terms over imports of $36.07 billion (Rs2,30,737.96 crore) in August 2017.
Cumulative value of imports for the April-August 2018-19 period stood at $216.43 billion (Rs14,69,479.24 crore), against $184.45 billion (Rs11,87,188.89 crore) during April-August 2017-18, showing a growth of 17.34 per cent in dollar terms and a 23.78 per cent growth in rupee terms.
Major commodity groups of import showing high growth in August 2018 over the corresponding month of last year are:
India’s oil imports in August 2018 stood at $11.83 billion (Rs82,274.22 crore), which was 51.62 per cent higher in dollar terms and 64.84 per cent higher in rupee terms, compared to $7.80 billion (Rs49,911.68 crore) in August 2017. Oil imports in April-August 2018-19 stood at $58.81 billion (Rs3,99,371.93 crore) which was 53.55 per cent higher in dollar terms and 62.01 per cent higher in rupee terms, compared to $38.30 billion (Rs2,46,504.68 crore), over the same period last year.
Non-oil imports into the country in August 2018 were estimated at $33.41 billion (Rs2,32,323.32 crore) which was 18.17 per cent higher in dollar terms and 28.48 per cent higher in rupee terms, compared to $28.27 billion (Rs1,80,826.29 crore) in August 2017.
Non-oil imports in April-August 2018-19 stood at $157.62 billion (Rs10,70,107.31 crore), which was 7.84 per cent higher in dollar terms and 13.76 per cent higher in rupee terms, compared to $146.15 billion (Rs9,40,684.21 crore) in April-August 2017-18.
Imports of items other than the high-value petroleum crude and gold stood at $29.77 billion in August 2018, showing a growth of 12.84 per cent year-on-year while such imports in April-August 2018-19 rose 8.93 per c3ent to $142.57 billion.