India's exports grow nearly 57 per cent to $25.9 billion in May

Exports from the country grew at a record 56.9 per cent in May 2011 to $25.9 billion, continuing a buoyant trend that started in the second half of last fiscal. Imports during the month also grew to $40.9 billion, which pushed the country's balance of trade during the month alone to $15 billion.

Disclosing this, commerce secretary Rahul Khullar said while the export performance is at an all-time high, this is also the first month in recent times that imports have shown a big jump.

In fact, imports into the country have grown 24.58 per cent from $32.83 billion during April 2011.

During the first two months of the current financial year (April-May 2011), India's exports have reached a level of $49.8 billion, achieving an average growth rate of 45.3 per cent.

Imports during April-May 2011 stood at $73.7 billion, which showed a growth of 33.3 per cent year-on-year.

Trade deficit for the two months rose to $23.9 billion compared to the figures for the same period last year.