Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

During April-August this fiscal India’s imports from China declined by 27.63 percent to $21.58 billion over the same period last year, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal informed the Parliament on Monday. In August Value of imports from China stood at $4.98 billion and $5.58 in July, according to the data provided by  Piyush Goyal in his written reply to the Lok Sabha.

During April-August, 2020-21″India’s imports from China have slumped by 27.63 percent over the same quarter of the previous year,” he added. The minister in a separate reply said there is no proposal under consideration of the withdrawal of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to China.

While replying to a question he said “No such proposal is under consideration at this time,” whether the government is planning for the withdrawal of MFN status to China to reduce the export-import business with China. The minister informed that the country’s export is rejuvenating, later in a media briefing

Exports have recorded a growth of 10 percent over the same period last year, during the first half of September, he added.

Export-Import is showing positive trends: Goyal

After rendering a striking drop in April this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s exports, as well as imports, are showing positive trends, as the outbound shipments are reaching the last year’s levels, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

Goyal announced this during his meeting with various export promotion councils in the first week of September. Talking about imports, Goyal said that inbound shipments of capital goods have not decreased, and the contraction has been seen mainly in fertilizers, crude and gold.

The minister added that the trade deficit is diminishing drastically and India’s stake in the global trade is improving due to resilient supply chains. He furthermore said the ministry is trying to create more credible and adequate trade data so that the nation can do better designing and frame policies consequently.

Port cargo getting back on track, but still lower compared to the same period last year

During April-August 2020, almost all major ports saw a striking decline in cargo traffic compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. Still, the plunge has started limiting down every month.  The fall in cargo at 12 major ports — administered by the central government — was 10 percent in August compared to the same period last year.  “Companies are slowly getting back on track and mainly picking up from the export standpoint. We covered 98.5 percent in August, of what we did last month. We have covered about 82 per cent of the cargo volumes, compared to the same period last year

Trade deficit hits 4-month high of $6.77 bn

The data for August, released by the commerce department on Tuesday, shows cumulative exports in the first five months of the financial year fell 26.65 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.

Imports fell by 26.04 percent to $29.47 billion, after July’s 28.4 percent fall. The rate of contraction of imports has continued to reduce over the past five months. After witnessing a rare trade surplus of $800 million in June, the trade deficit climbed to $6.77 billion, a four-month high. However, the latest rise was attributed by experts to a 171 percent surge in gold imports, reflecting pent-up demand as well as elevated prices, with expectations of further imports in the run-up to the festive season.

Exports continue to remain hamstrung by the deep economic slowdown induced by the Covid-19 pandemic across India’s key markets of Europe, the US, and the Gulf region. On August, 15 of the 30 major product groups showed growth, down from 16 in the previous month. Only drug exports continued to capitalize on the Covid-19 pandemic, and saw substantial growth of 17.3 percent, slightly lower than July’s 19.5 percent. However, all other major export categories remained deep in the red.

By Arbaz Khan

aspiring entrepreneur and financial market enthusiast with a zeal to learn and get better with each passing day

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