Exports dip 0.25% to $27.67 billion in February
NEW DELHI: India's exports marginally declined 0.25 per cent to $27.67 billion in February while imports grew by 6.98 per cent to $40.55 billion during the month, according to provisional data released by the commerce ministry on Tuesday. The trade deficit widened to $12.88 billion in February as compared to $10.16 billion in the year-ago period, the ministry said in a statement. The exports during April-February 2020-21 period stood at $255.92 billion. In the same period a year ago, it was at $291.87 billion, showing a negative growth of 12.32 per cent. Imports during April-February period too dipped 23 per cent to $340.88 billion.
In February, oil imports declined 16.63 per cent to $8.99 billion. It was down 40.18 per cent to $72.08 billion during the 11-month period of the current fiscal.
Major commodities of export which recorded positive growth in February include oil meals, iron ore, rice, meat, dairy and poultry products, carpet, spices, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Many export commodities recorded negative growth during the same period. They are petroleum products (-27.13 per cent), leather (-21.62 per cent), cashew (-18.6 per cent), gems and jewellery (-11.18 per cent), engineering goods (-2.56 per cent), tea (-2.49 per cent) and coffee (-0.73 per cent).
The Times of India