The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in its provisional data has showed that India's merchandise exports rose 26.49 percent year-on-year to $29.88 billion in November 2021 on better performance by key sectors. The exports stood at $23.62 billion in November 2020. Imports in November were at $53.15 billion, an increase of 57.18 per cent over the same month of 2020. The trade deficit widened to an all-time high of $23.27 billion as gold imports grew by about 8 per cent to $4.22 billion. The gap between imports and exports totalled $10.19 billion during November 2020.
As per the data, India's merchandise exports in April-November 2021 was $262.46 billion, an increase of 50.71 per cent over $174.15 billion in April-November 2020 and an increase of 24.29 per cent over $211.17 billion in April-November 2019. Imports in April-November 2021 grew by 75.39 per cent to $384.44 billion. Trade deficit stood at $121.98 billion during the eight-month period of this fiscal.
It stated that export sectors that recorded positive growth during the month include petroleum products, handloom, engineering, chemicals, plastic and marine products. Outward shipments of engineering goods, which accounted for 28.19 per cent of total exports in November, jumped about 37 per cent year-on-year to $8 billion. Exports of petroleum products soared 145.3 per cent on an annual basis to $3.82 billion. However, the outbound shipments of gems and jewellery dipped by 11 per cent to $2.4 billion during the month. It further noted that Imports of 'coal, coke and briquettes' climbed 135.81 per cent in November this year to $3.58 billion. Imports of 'petroleum, crude and products' surged 132.44 per cent to $14.68 billion during the month under review.
