India's Trade, Exports and Imports

Having been an agro-based economy, Indian trade has always been devoid of
manufactured or industrial goods. Post liberalisation, imports dominated the Indian trade
scene in the form of heavy machinery and information technology products and, thus,
created an imbalance of trade.

India Trade: Imports

The Indian economy is headed towards becoming a developed economy and all its
sectors are in need of machinery and energy. Therefore, Indian imports are dominated by
crude oil and machines. Other imported commodities are:

1. Precious stones
2. Fertilizer
3. Iron and steel
4. Gold & Silver
5. Electronic Goods
6. Machinery other than Electrical
7. Organic & Inorganic Chemicals
8. Metalliferous Ores & Products
9. Coal
10.Transport Equipment

India’s import partners are:

1. China 10.8%
2. Saudi Arabia 6.9%
3. US 6.7%U
4. AE 6.7%
5. Iran 4.2%

The graph below shows how the above countries have contributed to total import volume:
Indian trade has undergone massive restructuring following the 1991 liberalisation
policies. Ever since, India’s exports have experienced a growth rate of 18.11%. The big
surprise has been the import sector that has experienced a growth rate of 34.30%.
India Trade: Exports

Indian trade was impacted by the global recession of 2007-2009. Indian exports fell from
$200.9 billion in 2008 to $165 billion in 2009. India ranked 22nd in the world in terms of
export volume.

Being a country with a huge workforce, India has seen its trade being boosted by the
production of precious stones and metals. The various other export commodities that
India exports are:

1. Petroleum products
2. Machinery
3. Iron and steel
4. Chemicals
5. Vehicles
6. Apparel
 INDIA’S FOREIGN TRADE: July 2010.

A. EXPORTS (including re-exports)

Exports during July, 2010 were valued at US $ 16240 million (Rs. 76064 crore) which was
13.2 per cent higher in Dollar terms (9.4 per cent higher in Rupee terms) than the level of US
$ 14341 million (Rs.69521 crore) during July, 2009. Cumulative value of exports for the
period April-July 2010 was US $ 68629 million (Rs 315302 crore) as against US $ 52737
million (Rs. 256739 crore) registering a growth of 30.1 per cent in Dollar terms and 22.8 per
cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.

B. IMPORTS

Imports during July, 2010 were valued at US $ 29170 million (Rs.136625 crore)
representing a growth of 34.3 per cent in Dollar terms (29.7 per cent in Rupee terms) over
the level of imports valued at US $ 21724 million ( Rs. 105312 crore) in July, 2009.
Cumulative value of imports for the period April-July, 2010 was US $ 112214 million (Rs.
515617 crore) as against US $ 84156 million (Rs. 409518 crore) registering a growth of 33.3
per cent in Dollar terms and 25.9 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.

C. CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS:

Oil imports during July, 2010 were valued at US $ 7665 million which was 4.4 per cent
higher than oil imports valued at US $ 7344 million in the corresponding period last year.
Oil imports during April-July, 2010 were valued at US$ 32941 million which was 37.3 per
cent higher than the oil imports of US $ 23993 million in the corresponding period last year.

Non-oil imports during July, 2010 were estimated at US $ 21505 million which was
49.6 per cent higher than non-oil imports of US $ 14379 million in July, 2009. Non-oil
imports during April - July, 2010 were valued at US$ 79273 million which was 31.8 per cent
higher than the level of such imports valued at US$ 60163 million in April - July, 2009.
D. TRADE BALANCE

The trade deficit for April - July, 2010 was estimated at US $ 43585 million which was
higher than the deficit of US $ 31420 million during April -July, 2009.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

• www.economywatch.com
• www.commerce.nic.in
• www.investopedia.com
• www.indiamart.com
• www.exim-policy.com
• www.infodriveindia.com