India’s April-October trade deficit hits $94.72 billion
18 Nov 2019
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India’s merchandise trade deficit for the first seven months of the current financial year (April-October 2019-20) rose to $94.72 billion with the addition of an estimated $11.01 billion deficit in October 2019.
The October trade deficit of $11.01 billion, however, was far lower than the $18.00 billion deficit reported in October 2018.
Merchandise exports from the country stood at $26.38 billion in October 2019 (Rs1,87,382.29crore) in October 2019 against $26.67 billion (Rs1,96,406.43 crore) in October 2018, showing a negative growth of 1.11 per cent in dollar terms and a negative growth of 4.59 per cent in rupee terms.
Cumulative value of exports for the period April-October 2019-20 stood at $185.95 billion (Rs13,04,149.06 crore) against $190.15 billion (Rs13,17,881.40 crore) during the period April-October 2018-19, registering a negative growth of 2.21 per cent in dollar terms and a negative growth of 1.04 per cent in rupee terms.
Exports of goods other than petroleum and gems and jewellery stood at $19.04 billion in October 2019 compared to $18.93 billion in October 2018, showing a growth of 0.59 per cent. Non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in April-October 2019-20 stood at $137.45 billion, against $137.93 billion in the corresponding period of 2018-19, a decrease of 0.35 per cent.
Imports in October 2019 stood at $37.39 billion (Rs2,65,628.46 crore), which was 16.31 per cent lower in dollar terms and 19.26 per cent lower in rupee terms over imports worth $44.68billion (Rs3,28,973.56 crore) in October 2018.
Cumulative value of imports for the period April-October 2019-20 was $280.67 billion (Rs19,67,625.73 crore), against $306.31 billion (Rs21,23,857.76 crore) during the period April-October 2018-19, registering a negative growth of 8.37 per cent in dollar terms and a negative growth of 7.36 per cent in rupee terms.
Imports of crude oil, which has a major share in the country’s commodity imports, stood at $9.63 billion (Rs68,400.14 crore) in October 2019, which was 31.74 per cent lower in dollar terms and 34.15 per cent lower in rupee terms, compared to $14.11 billion (Rs1,03,864.85 crore) in October 2018. Oil imports in April-October 2019-20 stood at $73.93 billion (Rs5,18,270.66 crore) which was 12.16 per cent lower in dollar terms and 11.31 per cent lower in rupee terms compared to oil imports worth $84.17 billion (Rs5,84,362.56 crore) over the same period last year.
The decline in imports may be attributed to a decrease in the international prices of crude oil. The price of benchmark Brent crude has decreased by 26.22 per cent year-on-year in October 2019.
Non-oil imports in October 2019 were estimated at $27.76 billion (Rs1,97,228.32crore), which was 9.19 per cent lower in dollar terms and 12.39 per cent lower in rupee terms, compared to imports worth $30.57 billion (Rs2,25,108.71 crore) in October 2018. Non-oil imports in April-October 2019-20 stood at $206.74 billion (Rs14,49,355.07 crore), which was 6.93 per cent lower in dollar terms and 5.86 per cent lower in rupee terms, compared to imports worth $222.14 billion (Rs15,39,495.20 crore) in April-October 2018-19.
Imports of goods other than oil and gold stood at $25.92 billion in October 2019, recording a negative growth of 10.04 per cent, compared to such imports worth $28.82 billion in October 2018. Non-oil and non-gold imports stood at $189.10 billion in April-October 2019-20, recording a negative growth of 6.73 per cent, compared to non-oil and non-gold imports worth $202.74 billion in April-October 2018-19.
Merchandise trade deficit for October 2019 is estimated at $11.01 billion against a deficit of $18.00 billion in October 2018.
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