India's trade deficit widens 23.66% to USD 15.44 bn in December month
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, JAN 16, 2021: INDIA'S trade deficit in goods widened to USD 15.44 billion in December 2020 while merchandise exports rose marginally to USD 27.15 billion and imports increased to USD 42.59 billion, official data showed today.
"The [merchandise] trade deficit for December2020 was estimated at USD15.44 billion as against the deficit of USD12.49 billion inDecember2019, which is anincrease of 23.66%," said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Merchandise exports rose 0.14% in December from a year earlier value of USD 27.11 billion to USD 27.15 billion, the data showed. In rupee terms, exports inDecember2020 were Rs 1,99,770.58 crore, compared to Rs 1,92,984.47 crore in the same period last year, registering a 3.52% growth.
The commodities which led exports were oil meals, iron ore, processed cereals and jute, while petroleum products declined 35.35% and oil seeds by 31.62%
Merchandise imports totalled USD 42.59 billion or Rs 3,13,407.53 crore, in December 2020, marking a 7.56% increase in dollar terms and 11.18% increase in rupee terms from the same period last year, when it was USD39.59 billion or Rs2,81,880.86 crore.
As per the latest figures by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), services exports in December are estimated at USD 17.31 billion, while imports were USD 10.32 billion, and the trade balance stood at USD 6.99 billion.
India's overall exports, merchandise and services for April-December2020-21 are estimated to be USD 348.49 billion, exhibiting a negative growth of 12.65% over the same period last year. Overall imports in the same period, estimated to be USD 343.27 billion also showed a decline of 25.86% over the April-December2019-20 period last year, data showed.