India’s trade deficit shrinks to $20.58 billion in November, imports fall by 4.3%

India's trade balance saw a reduction in the merchandise trade deficit, reaching $20.58 billion in November, as revealed by government data on Friday.

This decline was chiefly propelled by a 4.3% decrease in imports, totaling $54.48 billion compared to the previous year's $56.95 billion for the same month.

From April to November in the current fiscal year, exports experienced a decline of 6.51%, totaling $278.8 billion.

Simultaneously, imports witnessed a downturn of 8.67%, reaching $445.15 billion over the eight-month span.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal expressed optimism about India's export performance, highlighting its resilience amid the global economic slowdown.

In October, merchandise exports experienced a notable increase of 6.21%, reaching $33.57 billion.

It's worth noting that despite this positive trend, the trade deficit expanded to a record high of $31.46 billion for the same period.

At that time, Barthwal characterized the trade numbers in October as indicative of "green shoots," signaling signs of recovery in outbound shipments.

Presently, the export sector is facing challenges arising from the geopolitical landscape and other factors such as elevated inflation, economic deceleration in advanced economies, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, tensions between China and Taiwan, China-US relations, and the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict..

From February to July, the nation's exports experienced a downturn. Following a reevaluation of figures by the commerce ministry, there was a 3.88 percent positive growth in shipments in August.

However, in September, there was a contraction of 2.6 percent. The World Trade Organization (WTO) predicts a modest 0.8 percent growth in global trade for the year 2023.