According to official estimates released on May 3, India exported goods worth $38.19 billion in April 2022, up 24.2% from a year ago, but down 9.5% from last month’s record exports of $42.2 billion.
The trade deficit widened to $20.07 billion from $18.5 billion in March, as imports grew at a faster pace to $58.26 billion, a 26.6% increase compared to April 2021. Gold imports this April fell by a sharp 73% year-on-year to just $1.7 billion. , but coal imports rose to more than $4.7 billion from $2 billion a year earlier, while imports of petroleum products rose 81.2% to more than $19.5 billion.
Among the top 10 export items, gems and jewelery exports fell a marginal 2.1% in April, while rice exports fell 14.24%. Engineering goods exports continued to grow well, with outbound shipments rising 15.4% to $9.2 billion in April.
Exports of readymade garments grew 16.4% from April 2021 to $1.5 billion, but were down 13.2% compared to March 2022. Similarly, exports of organic chemicals were up 26.7% from a year ago, but fell slightly higher by 8.1% month-on-month. $2.5 billion.
India’s exports touched a record $420 billion in 2021-22 and the government is in the process of setting a higher target for this year. Imports also touched a new high last year, rising 55% from 2020-21 levels to around $612 billion.