NEW DELHI — India’s exports grew to $20.6 billion in January — a 32.5 per cent increase from a year earlier — on higher demand from the West, the commerce secretary said Saturday.
The growth helped India earn $184.6 billion from exports in the period from April to January, thanks to hungry markets for gems, jewelry, engineering and petroleum products.
“It is a huge jump,” Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said told Press Trust of India news agency, adding that the country could cross the $200 billion mark in February. “Export performance is pretty damn good.”
During the April-January period, India spent $273.6 billion on imports, leading to a $89 billion trade deficit. January imports totalled $28.6 billion, up 13.1 per cent from last year, though Khullar suggested the import figures would be revised.
Meanwhile, falling prices for onions, a diet staple in South Asia, led the agriculture minister on Friday to call for the lifting of a ban on onion sales abroad, while the foreign trade directorate general said onions could be exported in cut, sliced or powdered form.
India had banned onion exports in early January to check rocketing prices for onions, as well as other produce.