India’s merchandise exports contracted 1.15% year-on-year in August to $33 billion, while inelastic imports of petroleum and coal continued to climb, lifting imports above the $60 billion mark for the sixth successive month.
The country’s goods trade deficit moderated slightly sequentially from the record $30 billion in July, but remained the second highest on record at $28.68 billion, and widened appreciably from the $11.7 billion in August 2021. Preliminary trade data for July had also shown a 0.8% dip in exports, which was later revised to a 2.1% uptick. The last time India recorded a contraction in exports was in February 2021.
Apart from global headwinds, Commerce Secretary B. V. R. Subrahmanyam attributed the dip in outbound shipments, which declined 9% sequentially, to a growing tendency among international buyers to seek deferrals in shipments of confirmed orders, as well as the gamut of measures taken by the government to try and curb elevated inflation.
