India's September merchandise exports rise over 5% YoY

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) India's merchandise exports in September rose by 5.27 per cent on a year-on-year basis, official data showed on Friday. The country shipped out merchandise worth $27.40 billion from $26.02 billion exported during the like period of the previous year. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the top five commodities that showed positive growth during September 2020 vis-a-vis September 2019 were other cereals, iron ore, rice, oilmeal and carpets. On Thursday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, in a tweet, said: "Make in India, Make for the World: Indian merchandise exports grow 5.27 per cent in Sep 20 as compared to last year. Another indicator of the rapid recovery of Indian economy as it surpasses pre-COVID levels across parameters." In terms of sequential movement, India's merchandise exports in August stood at $22.70 billion from $25.99 billion exported during the like period of the previous year. However, exports during April-September 2020-21 were $125.06 billion, exhibiting a negative growth of 21.43 per cent over the same period last year. Similarly, India's imports declined, falling 19.60 per cent to $30.31 billion in September from $37.69 billion reported for the corresponding month of 2019. "Merchandise imports during April-September 2020-21 were $148.69 billion, as compared to $248.08 billion during the same period last year, exhibiting a negative growth of 40.06 per cent," the ministry said in a statement. "India is thus a net importer in September 2020, with a trade deficit of $2.91 billion, as compared to trade deficit of $11.67 billion, showing a substantial improvement of 75.06 per cent."
--IANS rv/vd