India’s merchandise exports have hit $23.82 billion in the first three weeks of December, almost 28% higher than in the same period in the pre-COVID year 2019, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday.
The country’s exports in November stood at $30.04 billion, but imports had surged faster taking the country’s trade deficit that month to a record $22.9 billion.
“Exports in the first three weeks of this month are 36.2% [higher] over the same period of 2020 and up by 27.7% from the corresponding weeks in December 2019,” an official said, adding that outbound shipments in the third week of this month accounted for about $7.36 billion.
“Goods exports, excluding petroleum products, increased in this three-week period by 28.08% compared to 2020 and 28.75% over the corresponding period of 2019-20,” the official added.
$120-bn deficit this fiscal
Total merchandise exports between April and November of 2021 were $263.57 billion, while the total imports stood at $384.34 billion, leading to an overall trade deficit of more than $120 billion so far in this financial year.