Sakthivel encouraged by quantum jump in exports to developed economies such as US, Europe, Singapore-Hong Kong
India achieved an all-time high annual merchandise exports of US$417.81 billion in FY 2021-22, an increase of 43.18% over US$291.81 billion in COVID-hit FY2020-21 and an increase of 33.33% over US$313.36 billion in FY2019-20, Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on 4 April 2022.
For the first time, India’s monthly merchandise exports exceeded US$40 billion, reaching US$40.38 billion in March 2022, an increase of 14.53% over US$35.26 billion in March 2021 and an increase of 87.89% over US$21.49 billion in March 2020.
India’s merchandise import in March 2022 was US$59.07 billion, an increase of 20.79% over US$48.90 billion in March 2021 and an increase of 87.68% over US$31.47 billion in March 2020.
The total April 2021-March 2022 merchandise import was US$610.22 billion, an increase of 54.71% over US$394.44 billion in April 2020-March 2021 and an increase of 28.55% over US$474.71 billion in April 2019-March 2020.
Reacting to the Trade Data, FIEO President Dr A Sakthivel said, “It is encouraging to see that India’s exports to developed economies including the US, the Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK, Belgium and Germany saw a quantum jump during the previous fiscal, which also showcases the increasing strength of manufacturing in exports.
“Exports are now set to transform the Indian economy. What is more important is to build on it as we will have benefits of new FTAs/CEPAs and the PLI Scheme backing us. We will build on such remarkable achievements.”
The hard work and the outstanding performance shown by the Exim community has not only given a boost to the sector, but has also helped the economy’s growth recovery process in a big way, with a hope to further give a boost to the economy in the coming days, he said.
Top sectors, which has performed impressively during FY 2021-22, were Engineering Goods, Petroleum Products, Gems & Jewellery, Organic & Inorganic Chemicals, Electronic Goods, Cotton Yarn/Fabrics/Made-ups, Handloom Products etc., Agricultural products including Wheat, Rice, Sugar and coffee, Dairy products and Jute including floor covering.
Out of these, many were labour-intensive sectors contributing majorly to the exports basket, which itself is a good sign, further helping job creation in the country, said Dr Sakthivel. fiinews.com
