Barthwal announced that the Department of Commerce and the Department for Promotion of Investments and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had devised a trading strategy to address the slowdown in the developed world, which is India’s major importer. “We have identified 40 countries with 85% share of India’s exports. We will have a more focused approach to increase exports in these countries,” Barthwal said at a press briefing on Thursday. Invest India, the government’s investment facilitation agency, and various missions abroad, along with territorial divisions of both DoC and DPIIT, will be used to implement the strategy.
Image-: Indian Express
India’s merchandise exports plummeted for the fourth consecutive month, nosediving by 10.3% YoY in May 2023 to a mere $34.98 billion. The downfall was predominantly due to the devastating impact on key sectors such as petroleum products, gems & jewelry, engineering items, chemicals, and readymade garments, as the lull in the developed world continued to wreak havoc on demand. The Commerce & Industry Ministry’s quick estimates, released on Thursday, revealed that the trade deficit hit a five-month high in May 2023, standing at a staggering $22.12 billion. During the month, imports decreased by 6.58%, amounting to $57.10 billion, with a decline in the inflow of petroleum, coal, pearls, precious & semi-precious stones, gold, transport equipment, and chemicals.
Global headwinds-:
According to Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, the decline in exports was primarily due to the persistent headwinds in the global trade sector, as many countries faced recession and slowdowns. Barthwal stated, “But we are banking on WTO’s prediction, which has revised its global trade forecast (for 2023) to 1.7%, up from the previous estimate of 1%.” The Commerce Department is hopeful of a demand revival starting in July-August 2023.
Trade strategy-:
Barthwal announced that the Department of Commerce and the Department for Promotion of Investments and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had devised a trading strategy to address the slowdown in the developed world, which is India’s major importer. “We have identified 40 countries with 85% share of India’s exports. We will have a more focused approach to surge exports in these countries,” Barthwal said at a press briefing on Thursday.
Invest India, the central government’s investment facilitation arm, and various missions in foreign nations, along with the territorial divisions of both DoC and DPIIT, will be used to successfully implement this strategy. The government is also releasing an export strategy based on growth rates in foreign nationals and the trade forecasts made by the WTO. “The focus will be on the twin strategy of import substitution and export promotion,” he said.
In May 2023, exports surged in 13 of the 30 key sectors, including electronic goods (73.96%), other cereals (67.96%), oil meals (52.91%), spices (49.84%), iron ore (48.26%), and oil seeds. “The impact of duty withdrawal on iron ore is conspicuous in India’s exports of the item,” the Commerce Department noted.
Trade gap-:
Exports plummeted by 11.41% to a meager $69.72 billion during April-May 2023, while imports decreased by 10.24% to $107 billion. The trade deficit during April-May 2023 was $37.26 billion, 7.95% lower than the trade deficit during April-May 2022. The US, the UAE, the Netherlands, China, and the UK were India’s top five export markets in April-May 2023. China, Russia, the US, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were India’s top import sources.
