India's exports of goods and services clock positive growth despite global challenges

New Delhi: India's total exports of merchandise and services for July 2024 are estimated at $62.42 billion, registering a positive growth of 2.81 per cent compared to the same month of the previous year, according to a statement issued by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Wednesday.

However, merchandise exports during July 2024 were estimated at $33.98 billion, a marginal decline compared to $34.49 billion in July 2023.

"Our exports are holding on despite what is happening globally. This is reflected in the substantial increase in engineering and electronics goods exports," Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters here.

He was referring to the geopolitical tensions due to the West Asia crisis and uncertainties in the advanced economies.

"Monthly fluctuations in exports are caused largely by variations in crude oil prices," he added.

Electronic goods exports, which include smartphones, increased by 37.31 from $2.04 billion in July 2023 to $2.81 billion in July 2024.

Engineering goods exports increased by 3.66 per cent from $8.72 billion in July 2023 to $9.04 billion in July 2024 while drugs and pharmaceuticals exports increased by 8.36 per cent to $2.31 billion during the month. There was also a 56.18 per cent jump in the export of meat, dairy & poultry products and a double-digit growth of 11.84 per cent in textile exports.

The cumulative value of merchandise exports during April-July 2024 was $144.12 billion as compared to $138.39 billion during April-July 2023, registering a positive growth of 4.15 per cent, according to the official figures.

India's total imports of merchandise and services combined for July 2024 is estimated at $72.03 billion, registering a positive growth of 7.14 per cent vis-a-vis July 2023, the data showed.

Merchandise imports during July this year were estimated at $57.48 billion as compared to $53.49 billion in July 2023.

The estimated value of service imports for July 2024 is $14.55 billion as compared to $13.74 billion in July 2023.

The top 5 export destinations exhibiting positive growth in April-July 2024 compared to April-July 2023 are the Netherlands (38.32 per cent), the US (9.06 per cent), United Arab Emirates (13.48 per cent), Malaysia (51.86 per cent) and Singapore (24.4 per cent), according to the official figures.

On the other hand, the top 5 import sources exhibiting growth in July 2024 compared to July 2023 are United Arab Emirates (84.87 per cent), China (13.05 per cent), Russia (22.56 per cent), Qatar (34.61 per cent) and Indonesia (15.05 per cent).