India’s foreign trade surpasses $800 billion: Think tank GTRI 

Despite a slowdown in global demand, India’s overall exports and imports of goods and services surpassed the $800 billion mark during the first half of 2023, attributed in large part to the country’s services sectors, according to a research released on Monday by think tank GTRI.

Data from the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) showedthat from January to June of this year, exports of goods and services increased by 1.5 per cent to $385.4 billion in comparison to $379.5 billion in January to June of 2022.

However, compared to the same period last year, imports decreased by 5.9 per cent to $415.5 billion, from $441.7 billion.

“India’s foreign trade (exports and imports of merchandise and services) reached $800.9 billion during January-June 2023, exhibiting a decline of 2.5 per cent over the same period last year (January-June 2022),” the report said.

Separately, exports of products fell by 8.1 per cent to $218.7 billion, while imports fell by 8.3 per cent to $325.7 billion.

In contrast, over the six-month period, exports of services increased by 17.7 per cent to $166.7 billion, while imports increased by 3.7 per cent to $89.8 billion.

“Data is showing modest decline due to weak global demand and losing competitiveness in labour intensive sectors. The decline in merchandise exports happened despite appreciating INR (Indian Rupee). INR/USD exchange rate appreciated from 76.16 in April 2022 to 82.18 in Apr 2023,” GTRI Co-founder Ajay Srivastava told PTI.

He noted that a number of issues, including as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, high inflation, tighter monetary policy, and financial unpredictability, contribute to the poor forecast for global commerce in 2023.

But he also mentioned that these factors will soon be overshadowed by a spate of new subsidies and protectionist measures by the EU and USA. He cited an example saying thatin the first seven months of 2023 alone, the EU has introduced five regulations on climate change and trade, each of these are essentially measures to curb imports.

He added that given that every major nation is shifting its attention inward, India should not give up its policy space, particularly when it comes to fresh concerns with FTAs (free trade agreements) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

(With inputs from agencies)

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