Exports rise 35% in May to cross $16 bn mark

Exports grew a strong 35.1% year-on-year in May showing that the debt crisis in the euro zone had not yet had a visible impact on India’s trade. 

Exports in May grew to $ 16.1 billion from $11.95 billion a year ago, data released on Thursday showed. Imports also surged 38.5% to $27.4 billion compared to the same period last fiscal, indicating a robust domestic economic activity. 

The trade deficit widened $11.29 billion from $7.8 billion a year ago because of the strong growth in imports. “While the trend in growth will continue for the next few months, exporters will face challenges on account of the adoption of the base rate regime, which is likely to increase the cost of export credit and uncertainty in the euro Zone,” said Federation of Indian Export Organisation president A Sakthivel said. 

Oil imports increased by 66.7% to $8.8 billion in May, while the non-oil imports rose by 32.3% to $18.6 billion. For the April-May period, exports grew by 35.7% to $33 billion over the comparative months last year. 

Imports during the first two months grew by 40.9% to $54.74 billion year-on-year. During April-May, trade deficit increased to $21.7 billion compared to $14.5 billion last year.