India’s exports fell 8.8% to $33.88 bn in Feb, trade deficit narrows

India’s exports fell in February 2023 by 8.8 per cent to $33.88 billion against $37.15 billion recorded during the corresponding period of last year. The country’s trade deficit, however, narrowed to $17.43 billion in February, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry. This is the third consecutive month when exports have fallen. Imports also witnessed a fall by 8.21 per cent to $51.31 billion compared to $55.9 billion recorded in the corresponding month last year. At the same time though, during the April-February period of the current financial year (2022-23), the country’s overall merchandise exports rose by 7.5 per cent to $405.94 billion. Imports during April-February period of current fiscal also rose by 18.82 per cent to $653.47 billion, the official data revealed. India has set a target to achieve $750 billion of exports in 2022-23, which is 11 per cent higher than the exports of $676 billion recorded in 2021-22. A significant growth in exports in 2022-23 till now has come from the sale of petroleum products and electronic goods, official sources said. Mobile exports have increased by 50 per cent in the current fiscal, touching $8.3 billion by January-end.