Exports shrink for 11th month in a row, down 17.33% in Oct to $21.35 billion

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: For the 11th month in a row, India's merchandise exports dipped in the month of October by 17.33 percent to USD 21.35 billion mainly due to weak global demands.

In September, exports contracted for the 10th month in a row by 24.33 percent to USD 21.84 billion, mainly due to steep fall in shipments of petroleum products, iron ore, and engineering goods.

Meanwhile, the trade deficit also marginally narrowed to $9.77 billion in October from $10.48 billion in September, as per a data released by the government.
Imports fell 21.15 percent from a year earlier to $31.12 billion, the data showed 

During the same period in the corresponding year, exports had grown by 13.47 percent to USD 27.27 billion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, while addressing the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey, expressed concerns about the slowdown in global trade calling it a major concern.

Prospects for increase in trade momentum remain bleak in the prevailing global economic environment. Efforts to accelerate global economic growth will help trade, he said.

Meanwhile, gold imports plunge by 59.5 percent to USD 1.70 billion in October.