Exports down 33% in March

India’s exports and imports are getting hit big time. While exports declined by 33% in March 2009 to $11.5 billion against $17.2 billion from the same month last year, imports dipped 34% to $15.5 billion from $23.6 billion. With external shipments contracting for six months in a row, the country’s exports aggregated $168.7 billion in 2008-09, growing marginally by 3.4% over 2007-08. Imports, which have been falling for last three months, recorded a growth of 14.3% in 2008-09 to $287.7 billion as against $251.6 billion in 2007-08. Because of the sharp fall in imports, the trade deficit in March 2009 declined to $4.1 billion as against $6.3 billion. However, during 2008-09, the trade deficit increased to $119 billion from $88.5 billion in the previous year. Imports fell mainly due to decline in the oil import bill with falling crude prices. Oil imports bill at $3.8 billion in March fell 58%. However, during 2008-09 oil imports increased by 17% to $93.2 billion as against $79.7 billion in 2007-08. Because of the slowdown in the economic activities, non-oil imports also dropped by 19% in March. However, due to sharp increase in the first nine months, non-oil imports bill in 2008-09 went up by 13.2% to $194.6 billion from $171.9 billion. Economists feel it would take a few more months before the contraction bottoms out. Federation of Indian Export Organisation president A Sakthivel said as inventories in Europe will be over by August, they have started visiting India and international trade fairs for procurement. Sakthivel said that India’s exports will pick up from July onwards and may touch the $185-billion-mark in 2009-10 on the back of diversification to countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. However, Icrier director Rajiv Kumar said, “India will be lucky if it can retain the 2008-09 level of exports’’. The slowdown in the non-oil imports also not augurs well for the economy. “The fall in non-oil imports during January-March, if concentrated in the areas of machinery, equipments and project goods, would entail slowdown in the industrial production,’’Ficci president Harsh Pati Singhania said.