Exports grow by 4% in October

India’s overall exports in October 2022 were estimated at US$ 58.36 billion, growing by 4% YoY. While merchandise exports dropped by 16% during the month, positive growth was witnessed for some commodities including oil seeds, oil meals, electronic goods, tobacco, tea and rice. 

Overall Merchandise and Services exports by India in October 2022 were estimated at US$ 58.36 billion growing by 4.03% YoY. Overall imports in October 2022 were estimated to be at US$ 73.00 billion, growing by 11.82% YoY, according to data released by the Department of Commerce.

Merchandise Exports

Merchandise exports during the month stood at US$ 29.78 Billion, as compared to US$ 35.73 billion in October 2021. Commodities that showed a positive growth included Oil seeds, Oil Meals, Electronic goods, Tobacco, Tea and Rice.

Table 1: Commodities showing positive growth         

Sl. No. Commodities OCT

2021

OCT

2022

%  Change

OCT 2022

1 Oil seeds 84.26 149.98 78
2 Oil Meals 55.8 91.87 64.64
3 Electronic Goods 1347 1853.77 37.62
4 Tobacco 85.28 102.68 20.4
5 Tea 65.37 72.88 11.49
6 Rice 692.38 703.96 1.67

Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry; Values in Million US$

A negative growth was seen for a number of commodities like iron ore, cotton, jute, cashews, spices, coffee, ceramic products & glassware, Marine Products, fruits & vegetables, plastic & linoleum, petroleum products and some other products. The table below shows those commodities that underwent a negative growth in October 2022.

Table 2: Commodities showing negative growth

Sl. No. Commodities OCT

2021

OCT

2022

% Change OCT 2022
1. Iron Ore 78.73 7.83 -90.05
2. Handicrafts excl. hand made carpet 198.99 98.05 -50.73
3. Cotton Yarn/Fabs./made-ups, Handloom Products etc. 1335.97 719.03 -46.18
4. Jute Mfg. including Floor Covering 43.55 23.57 -45.88
5. Cashew 43.3 25.23 -41.73
6. Carpet 173.19 107.13 -38.14
7. Other cereals 62.23 44.53 -28.44
8. Plastic & Linoleum 782.88 580.53 -25.85
9. Man-made Yarn/Fabs./made-ups etc. 468.69 350.56 -25.2
10. Meat, dairy & poultry products 383.67 299.2 -22.02
11. Gems & Jewellery 4221.22 3311.27 -21.56
12. Engineering Goods 9401.21 7402.97 -21.26
13. RMG of all Textiles 1254.13 988.72 -21.16
14. Mica, Coal & Other Ores, Minerals including processed minerals 441.8 351.9 -20.35
15. Spices 333.22 268.11 -19.54
16. Organic & Inorganic Chemicals 2569.37 2146.88 -16.44
17. Petroleum Products 5355.77 4751.69 -11.28
18. Marine Products 807.77 720.32 -10.83
19. Ceramic products & glassware 284.47 256.84 -9.71
20. Drugs & Pharmaceuticals 2064.45 1873.73 -9.24
21. Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items 186.91 174.38 -6.7
22. Coffee 85.71 80.11 -6.53
23. Leather & leather products 370.68 349.03 -5.84
24. Fruits & Vegetables 225.88 222.5 -1.5

Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry; Values in million US$

 Merchandise Imports

Merchandise imports in October 2022 were at US$ 56.69 Billion, as compared to US$ 53.64 Billion in October 2021. Commodities like Cotton Raw & Waste, Fertilisers, Petroleum Crude & products, Textile yarn Fabric & made-up articles showed positive growth. Pulses, fruits and vegetables, vegetable oils, electronic goods, Medicinal & Pharmaceutical products were amongst the other commodities that showed a negative growth during the month. The tables below show the import growth in various commodities in October 2022.

Table 3: Commodities showing positive growth

Sl. No. Commodities OCT

2021

OCT

2022

% Change

OCT 2022

1 Cotton Raw & Waste 38.11 172.13 351.67
2 Fertilisers, Crude & manufactured 805.39 2105.03 161.37
3 Newsprint 32.21 68.75 113.44
4 Pulp and Waste paper 139.62 224.98 61.14
5 Iron & Steel 1444.65 1991.41 37.85
6 Petroleum, Crude & products 12278.88 15852.43 29.1
7 Leather & leather products 66.12 85.35 29.08
8 Transport equipment 1961.71 2495.03 27.19
9 Wood &  Wood products 471.24 575.89 22.21
10 Project goods 44.33 48.38 9.14
11 Professional instrument, Optical goods, etc. 467.89 506.31 8.21
12 Non-ferrous metals 1427.9 1539.7 7.83
13 Textile yarn Fabric, made-up articles 199.48 207.71 4.13
14 Machinery, electrical & non-electrica

l

3536.06 3632.12 2.72
15 Artificial resins, plastic materials, etc. 1725.4 1762.4 2.14

Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry; Values in Million US$

Table 4: Commodity showing negative growth

Sl. No. Commodities OCT

2021

OCT

2022

%  Change

OCT 2022

1 Sulphur & Unroasted Iron Pyrites 31.93 11.23 -64.83
2 Pulses 378.41 204.81 -45.88
3 Silver 897.35 585.09 -34.8
4 Gold 5101.7 3700.15 -27.47
5 Dyeing/tanning/colouring materials 413.11 304.77 -26.23
6 Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones 2482.7 2159.93 -13
7 Fruits & vegetables 239.53 211.4 -11.74
8 Organic & Inorganic Chemicals 2,634.16 2359.02 -10.45
9 Electronic goods 6,828.85 6200.22 -9.21
10 Chemical material & products 934.43 855.67 -8.43
11 Metaliferrous ores & other minerals 794.86 728.11 -8.4
12 Machine tools 402.27 383.79 -4.59
13 Coal, Coke & Briquettes, etc. 3,308.85 3178.07 -3.95
14  Vegetable Oil 1,636.9 1580.63 -3.44
15 Medicinal & Pharmaceutical products 657.64 642.78 -2.26

Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry

According to Mr. Prahalathan Iyer, Chief General Manager, Research & Analysis, India Exim Bank, “the export slowdown has been caused both by supply and demand side factors. Continued bottlenecks in logistics and supply chain, shortages of semiconductors and some metal commodities, and elevated energy prices keep pressure on the production cycle, on the supply side. This could be seen in the negative export trends witnessed by engineering goods, plastics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, among others. The inflationary pressures due to energy prices has reduced the purchasing power of households, on the demand side. Exports of most of the consumer goods categories, like Gems and Jewellery, Textiles, Leather, Handicrafts, Carpets, are also in negative in the month of October”.

The future trend will be highly dependent on how the economies of USA and Europe would recover. Till September, both economies have been strong contributors to India’s export gain. During April-September, India’s exports to the US increased by 15.12% YoY to reach US$ 41.51 billion, while exports to the EU increased by 25.16% to reach US$ 36.4 billion.

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