A representative image of an onion grower with his produce in Beed, Maharashtra. Bans on the export of onions were often imposed and lifted Photo credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
According to Commerce Ministry estimates, India’s merchandise exports rose 1.07% to reach nearly $35 billion in April, while imports rose 10.25% to $54.1 billion. The monthly goods trade deficit was 32.3% higher than a year ago and amounted to $19.1 billion.
Gold imports more than tripled in April to $3.11 billion from $1.01 billion in the same month a year ago. Gold imports in March 2024 amounted to $1.53 billion.
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal expressed hope that the boost in merchandise exports in the first month of fiscal year 2024-25 would be a good omen for the coming months.
The ministry also raised its estimate for total exports in 2023-24 to $778.2 billion from last month’s $776.7 billion estimate, reflecting a 0.42% boost from the record $776.4 billion achieved in 2022–2023.
This adjustment was based on services export data, which is now estimated at $341.1 billion in 2023-2024, compared to $325.3 billion in 2022-2023. Merchandise export estimates for 2023-2024 are unchanged at $437.1 billion, down 3.1% from the record high of $451.1 billion a year earlier.
