New Delhi [India]: Exports under free trade agreements (FTAs) are now growing faster than imports, signaling an improvement in the utilisation of trade pacts, according to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.
In a blog post analyzing trade data for April to July of the current financial year, the minister noted that outbound shipments to FTA partner countries expanded by 23.9 per cent to USD 57.2 billion, outpacing the 13.9 per cent growth recorded in shipments to non-FTA markets. Consequently, the share of FTA partners in India's total exports rose from 31.1 per cent (USD 46.2 billion) to 32.9 per cent (USD 57.2 billion). At the same time, the trade deficit with FTA partners narrowed from USD 34.2 billion to USD 32.6 billion.
