Exports grow 36.4% in December 2010

India’s exports have registered a growth of 36.4% during December 2010, at US$22.5bn. Stating this at a press interaction, Rahul Khullar, Commerce Secretary, informed that during the period April-December 2010, exports have reached a level of US$164.7bn at a growth of 29.5% while the imports were US$247.1bn with a growth of 19% and a trade deficit of US$82.4bn. During the interaction, Khullar informed that India’s imports in December 2010 were US$25.1bn, down by 11.1%. He further clarified these figures were the quick estimates and the final figure may change. Balance of trade for December stood at (-)$2.6bn, which is the lowest in last three years. During April-December 2010-11, sectors like engineering, gems & jewellery, petroleum & petroleum products, leather & leather products, carpet, plastics & linoleum, cotton yarn and chemicals did well. Khuller added that these export monthly numbers were the highest in last 33 months and the import figures were the lowest in the last 14 months.