New Delhi, May 1 (Inditop) India’s merchandise exports fell short of the target set for the previous fiscal and were valued at $168.7 billion, up merely 3.4 percent over $163.13 billion in the year before, latest trade data showed Friday.
The government had set a target of $200 billion, which could not materialise due to the general downturn in the global economy and recession in some of the country’s largest trading partners such as the US and Britain.
Even the revised export target of $175 billion proved elusive. The country had logged an export growth of 23 percent during 2007-08 at $155.51 billion.
In fact, the exports during March this year were valued at $11.52 billion, which was 33.3 percent lower than the $17.25 billion registered during the like month of the previous year, the commerce ministry data showed.
The cumulative value of imports for 2008-09 was $287.76 billion, up 14.3 percent over $25.17 billion registered the year before. In March, imports declined 34 percent to $15.56 billion from $23.57 billion.
Import of oil during 2008-09 was valued at $93.18 billion, up 16.9 percent from $79.72 billion in the like period of the previous fiscal. In March, the imports totalled $3.81 billion, down 58.1 percent from $9.08 billion in the corresponding month the previous year.
Accordingly, the country’s trade deficit has been estimated at $119.06 billion, as against $88.52 billion during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008.
