6% yoy drop in Indian exports in August

India’s exports for the month of August dropped to US$ 26.13 billion. Consequently, overall exports are down by 9% to US$ 15.33 billion in the first five months of this fiscal. Gems and jewellery exports have continued to fall, dropping by 14% in August 2019 to US$ 2.84 billion against US$ 3.32 billion in the same month, last year.

This came right after the Commerce & Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal had said, “India must bring back 19-20 per cent export growth to become a $5 trillion economy”. However, the government has a reason to rejoice as the trade deficit narrowed in August to $13.45 billion. In August, India’s oil imports contracted by 8.9% to US$ 10.88 billion while the non-oil imports were down by 15% to US$ 28.71 billion.