India’s merchandise exports contracted 1.15% in August to $33 billion, while inelastic imports of petroleum and coal remained firm, lifting imports above the $60 billion mark for the sixth successive month.
The country’s goods trade deficit moderated slightly from the record $30 billion in July, but remained the second highest on record at $28.68 billion, more than double the $11.7 billion in August 2021. Preliminary trade data for July had also showed 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 fall in outbound shipments, whose value also dipped 9% over July 2022 levels, to a growing tendency among global buyers to seek deferrals in shipments of orders already placed as well as the bevy of measures taken by the government to curb elevated inflation.
