India's exports are down but so is the trade deficit

The Government further described services as a "success story" and mentioned that it can't be ignored, with exports rising to $27.17 billion in July 2023 from $24.26 in July 2022. Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry has also added that it is important to see India’s trade data not in isolation, with quantification of global headwinds. Trade deficit has fallen as the government prioritised food security and took a conscious decision to stop export of certain edible products.

There's a huge decline in both exports and imports of many countries while India's fall in exports is not as much as elsewhere. According to the Government data, decline was noted in merchandise imports from China in April to July 2023 while imports from Russia nearly doubled. Most of the decline in exports came due to the decline in value of petroleum exports. Import data of India's export destinations show consistent decline in imports in the past four months.

CNBC-TV18 reported in early July that many global chemical companies like FMC, Evonik, Clariant, Lanxess AG and Olin corp have issued profit warnings and blamed channel partners drawing down inventory and not replenishing them.

In 2022, the country had witnessed the largest growth year in exports, this year's figure would look smaller in view of global headwinds, mentioned the Commerce Ministry.