India’s Foreign Trade: October 2020

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-October2020-21* are estimated to be USD 265.09Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 14.53per cent over the same period last year. Overall imports in April-October 2020-21* are estimated to be USD 248.58Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-)31.89per cent over the same period last year.

*Note: i) The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for September 2020. The data for October 2020 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release ii) the figures in bracket are growth rates vis-à-vis corresponding period of last year.

I. MERCHANDISE TRADE

EXPORTS (including re-exports)

• Exports inOctober2020 were USD24.89Billion, as compared to USD26.23Billion in October 2019, exhibiting a negative growth of (-)5.12per cent. In Rupee terms, exports were Rs. 1,82,845.95Crore in October2020, as compared to Rs. 1,86,358.06Crore in October2019, registering a negative growth of (-)1.88per cent.
• Major commodities/commodity groups which have recorded positive growth during October 2020 vis-à-vis October 2019 are Other cereals  (378.23%), Rice (113.62%), Oil meals (78.57%), Iron ore (74.14%), Oil seeds (54.21%), Carpet (37.67%), Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items (36.18%), Ceramic products & glassware (34.92%), Spices (21.85%), Drugs & pharmaceuticals (21.85%), Jute mfg. including floor covering (18.73%), Meat, dairy & poultry products (16.66%), Handicrafts excl. handmade carpet (11.38%), Fruits & vegetables (9.87%), Mica, Coal & other ores, minerals including processed minerals (9.64%), Cotton yarn/fabs./made-ups, handloom products etc. (6.68%), RMG of all textiles (6.32%), Tobacco (4.33%), Organic & inorganic chemicals (1.94%) and Tea (0.12%).
• Major commodities/commodity groups which have recorded negative growth during October 2020 vis-à-vis October 2019 are Petroleum products (-52.04%), Cashew (-21.57%), Gems & jewellery (-21.27%), Leather & leather products (-16.67%), Man-made yarn/fabs./made-ups etc. (-12.8%), Electronic goods (-9.36%), Coffee (-9.23%), Marine products (-8.09%), Plastic & Linoleum (-6.86%) and Engineering goods (-3.75%).
• Cumulative value of exports for the period April-October 2020-21 was USD150.14Billion (Rs.11,21,375.89Crore) as against USD185.40Billion (Rs.13,00,244.23Crore) during the period April-October 2019-20, registering a negative growth of (-) 19.02per cent in Dollar terms (negative growth of (-)13.76per cent in Rupee terms).
• Non-petroleum and Non-Gems and Jewellery exports in October 2020 were USD20.31Billion, as compared to USD19.07Billion in October2019, registering a positive growth of 6.51per cent. Non-petroleum and Non-Gems and Jewellery exports in April-October 2020-21 were USD124.82Billion, as compared to USD137.72Billion for the corresponding period in 2019-20, which is a decrease of (-)9.37 per cent.

IMPORTS

• Imports in October2020 were USD33.61Billion (Rs.2,46,856.53Crore), which is a decline of(-) 11.53per cent in Dollar terms and (-) 8.52per cent in Rupee terms over imports of USD37.99Billion (Rs2,69,852.86Crore) in October2019. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-October 2020-21 was USD182.29Billion (Rs.13,61,543.11Crore), as against USD286.07Billion (Rs.20,05,403.85Crore) during the period April-October 2019-20, registering a negative growth of (-)36.28per cent in Dollar terms and a negative growth of (-)32.11per cent in Rupee terms.
• Major commodity groups of import showing negative growth in October2020 over the corresponding month of last year are:

CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS:

• Oil imports inOctober2020 were USD5.98Billion (Rs. 43,935.17Crore), which was 38.52percentlower in Dollar terms (36.43percent lower in Rupee terms), compared to USD9.73Billion (Rs. 69,111.05Crore) in October2019. Oil imports inApril-October 2020-21 were USD37.84Billion (Rs. 2,82,930.87Crore) which was 49.50per cent lower in Dollar terms (46.13percent lower in Rupee terms) compared to USD74.92Billion (Rs. 5,25,219.68Crore), over the same period last year.
• In this connection it is mentioned that the global Brent price ($/bbl) has decreased by 31.83% in October2020 vis-à-vis October 2019 as per data available from World Bank.
• Non-oil imports inOctober2020 were estimated at USD27.62Billion (Rs. 2,02,921.36Crore) which was 2.24percent lower in Dollar terms (1.09percent higher in Rupee terms), compared to USD28.26Billion (Rs. 2,00,741.82Crore) in October2019. Non-oil imports inApril-October 2020-21 were USD144.45Billion (Rs. 10,78,612.24Crore) which was 31.58per cent lower in Dollar terms (27.13percent lower in Rupee terms), compared to USD211.14Billion (Rs. 14,80,184.16Crore) in April-October2019-20.
• Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports wereUSD25.12Billion in October2020, recording a negative growth of (-)4.90per cent, as compared to Non-Oil and Non-Gold importsof USD 26.42Billion in October2019. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports wereUSD135.18Billion in April-October 2020-21, recording a negative growth of (-) 30.14per cent, as compared to Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports ofUSD 193.50Billion in April-October 2019-20.

II. TRADE IN SERVICES

EXPORTS (Receipts)

• As per the latest press release by RBI dated 13^thNovember 2020, exports in September2020 were USD 17.29Billion (Rs.1,27,013.12Crore) registering a negative growth of (-) 1.43per cent in Dollar terms, vis-à-vis September2019. The estimated value of services export for October2020* is USD 17.39Billion.

IMPORTS (Payments)

• As per the latest press release by RBI dated 13^th November 2020, imports in September 2020 were USD 10.14Billion (Rs. 74,473.70Crore) registering a negative growth of (-)8.66per cent in Dollar terms, vis-à-vis September2019. The estimated value of servicesimport for October2020* is USD 10.20Billion.

III.TRADE BALANCE

• MERCHANDISE: The trade deficit for October2020 was estimated at USD8.71Billion as against the deficit of USD11.75Billion inOctober2019, which is a decline of (-) 25.86 percent.
• SERVICES: As per RBI’s Press Release dated 13^th November 2020, the trade balance in Services (i.e. Net Services export) for September 2020 is USD7.15Billion. The estimated trade balance in October 2020* is USD 7.19Billion.
• OVERALL TRADE BALANCE: Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade surplus for April-October 2020-21* is estimated at USD16.52Billion as compared to the deficit of USD54.83Billion in April-October 2019-20.

 

*Note: The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for September2020. The data for October2020 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release.  

MERCHANDISE TRADE

EXPORTS &IMPORTS  : (US $ Billion)
(PROVISIONAL)
	OCTOBER	APRIL-OCTOBER
EXPORTS(including re-exports)
2019-20	26.23	185.40
2020-21	24.89	150.14
%Growth 2020-21/ 2019-20	-5.12	-19.02
IMPORTS
2019-20	37.99	286.07
2020-21	33.61	182.29
%Growth 2020-21/ 2019-20	-11.53	-36.28
TRADE BALANCE
2019-20	-11.75	-100.67
2020-21	-8.71	-32.16
EXPORTS &IMPORTS: (Rs. Crore)
(PROVISIONAL)
	OCTOBER	APRIL-OCTOBER
EXPORTS(including re-exports)
2019-20	1,86,358.06	13,00,244.23
2020-21	1,82,845.95	11,21,375.89
%Growth 2020-21/ 2019-20	-1.88	-13.76
IMPORTS
2019-20	2,69,852.86	20,05,403.85
2020-21	2,46,856.53	13,61,543.11
%Growth 2020-21/ 2019-20	-8.52	-32.11
TRADE BALANCE
2019-20	-83,494.80	-7,05,159.62
2020-21	-64,010.58	-2,40,167.22

 

 

SERVICES TRADE

 

EXPORTS & IMPORTS (SERVICES) : (US $ Billion)
(PROVISIONAL)	September 2020	April-September 2020-21
EXPORTS (Receipts)	17.29	97.56
IMPORTS (Payments)	10.14	56.08
TRADE BALANCE	7.15	41.48
EXPORTS & IMPORTS (SERVICES): (Rs. Crore)
(PROVISIONAL)	September 2020	April-September 2020-21
EXPORTS (Receipts)	1,27,013.12	7,32,646.52
IMPORTS (Payments)	74,473.70	4,21,060.68
TRADE BALANCE	52,539.42	3,11,585.84
Source: RBI Press Release dated 13thNovember2020

 

Click here to see Quick Estimates for Selected Major Commodities for October 2020