April exports exceed $38 billion, and the trade imbalance exceeds $20 billion!!

April exports exceed $38 billion, and the trade imbalance exceeds $20 billion. According to government estimates issued on Tuesday, India exported items worth $38.19 billion in April 2022, a 24.2 percent rise from a year earlier but 9.5 percent down from the record $42.2 billion shipped out in March. However, the trade deficit increased to $20.07 billion in April from $18.5 billion in March, as imports increased by 26.6 percent to $58.26 billion. Imports of goods fell 4.1 percent sequential in April compared to March.

Even as coal imports more than quadrupled to almost $4.7 billion from $2 billion a year ago, gold shipments dropped by 73 percent to only $1.7 billion. Petroleum imports, including oil and products, increased by 81.2 percent to $19.5 billion, accounting for a third of total imports.

In April 2022, India’s goods trade deficit surpassed $200 billion for the first time in a 12-month period. The rise in the trade deficit from $15.3 billion in April 2021 was entirely due to higher oil imports. ‘We estimate the merchandise trade imbalance to run over $20 billion in a majority of the months of 2022-23’,ICRA chief economist-Aditi Nayar said.

In 2021-22, India’s goods exports reached an all-time high of $420 billion, while imports reached a record high of $612 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $420 billion.

‘High logistics costs and the unprecedented surge in raw material prices are hurting all sectors, pointed out Engineering Exports Promotion Council chief Mahesh Desai. The government is well aware of the issues facing the sector and we hope policy actions would be taken to minimise the impact,’he added.