ADVERTISEMENT

India's Trade Deficit Widens To $12.88 Billion In February

Exports declined 0.25% to $27.67 billion in February while imports grew 6.98% to $40.55 billion.

Export containers stacked for shipping (Photographer: Aaron Showalter/Bloomberg) 
Export containers stacked for shipping (Photographer: Aaron Showalter/Bloomberg) 

India's exports declined 0.25% to $27.67 billion in February while imports grew 6.98% to $40.55 billion during the month, according to provisional data released by the commerce ministry.

The trade deficit widened to $12.88 billion in February as compared to $10.16 billion in the year-ago period, the ministry said in a statement. However, the trade deficit stood at $14.54 billion in January 2021.

The exports during April-February period stood at $255.92 billion. In the same period a year-ago, it was at $291.87 billion, showing a negative growth of 12.32%.

Imports during April-February period too dipped 23% to $340.88 billion.

In February, oil imports declined 16.63% to $8.99 billion. It was down 40.18% to $72.08 billion during the 11-month period of the current fiscal.

Major commodities of export which recorded positive growth in February include oil meals, iron ore, rice, meat, dairy and poultry products, carpets, spices, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.

Many export commodities recorded negative growth during the same period. They are petroleum products (-27.13%), leather (-21.62%), cashew (-18.6%), gems and jewellery (-11.18%), engineering goods (-2.56%), tea (-2.49%) and coffee (-0.73%).