India's December trade deficit drops to $19.8 billion, exports hike to $38.45 billion

The merchandise exports also increased marginally year-on-year (YoY) from $38.08 billion to $38.45 billion in December 2023. The positive growth in merchandise exports has been attributed to increased growth in exports of iron ore, tobacco, meat, dairy and poultry products, spices, fruits and vegetables, electronic goods, and jewellery among other goods.

Meanwhile, the fall in merchandise imports has been witnessed due to negative growth in the import of sulphur and unroasted iron pyrites, transport equipment, vegetable oil, fertilisers and crude oil, among other goods, as per the Commerce Ministry.

India’s gold imports jumped 156% in December 2023 to $3 billion. Crude oil imports in April–December 2023–24 declined by about 19% to $128.6 billion, while gold imports surged by 26.64% to about $36 billion in April–December 2023.

Exports during April–December this fiscal dipped by 5.7% to $317.12 billion. Imports contracted by 7.93% to $505.15 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $188.02 billion in the first three quarters as against $212.34 billion in April–December 2022.

Briefing reporters on the data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that despite a global slowdown, "we are in the positive zone, and the trade deficit has also come down." The exports are struggling on account of a slowdown in Western countries, besides geopolitical tensions.

The Red Sea crisis will also hurt exports in the coming months as exporters are holding up consignments. India's merchandise exports have lingered in the last several months, except for October.

"The whole globe is facing an adverse condition. Globally, the picture is quite bad, but India is doing well. We hope to beat the global trends in the January–March quarter as well. Yes, we are waiting and watching what is happening in the Red Sea," he told reporters in New Delhi and expressed confidence that the country's goods and services exports would cross last year's figure of $776 billion. He added that the Red Sea crisis would have an impact on exports on account of the increase in transportation costs. The ministry is holding an inter-ministerial meeting to take stock of the situation.

The situation around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, has escalated due to attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants. Due to these attacks, the shippers are taking consignments through the Cape of Good Hope, resulting in delays of almost 14 days and also higher freight and insurance costs.

The commerce ministry has also asked the ECGC not to increase the export credit interest rates. State-owned ECGC is an export promotion organisation, seeking to improve the competitiveness of Indian exports by providing them with credit insurance covers.

During December 2023, key export sectors that recorded negative growth included petroleum products, ready-made garments of all textiles, chemicals, and leather products. Sectors that are in the positive zone include plastic, electronic goods, engineering items, and gems and jewellery. According to the data, the estimated value of services export has contracted to $27.88 billion, as compared to $31.19 billion in December 2022.

During the nine-month period, however, these exports rose to $247.92 billion as compared to $239.5 billion in April–December 2022.