JOIN USOverall exports, fell by 22.63 per cent to US$ 5.22 billion in the the first quarter as against US$ 6.75 billion, in the same period last year, as arrivals of natural pearls, precious and semiprecious stones and pharmaceutical products declined.
India’s imports fell by 24.9 per cent to US$ 2.96 billion in the first three months of 2009 over US$ 3.94 billion in the year-ago period.
Trade between the countries during January-March 2008 was US$ 10.69 billion.
However, India’s exports of iron and steel increased to US$ 476.3 million from US$ 430.9 million in the first quarter and consignments of organic chemicals, apparels and clothing accessories showed improvement.
As far as imports from US are concerned, aircraft, spacecraft and parts were the worst affected. Shipments of these items fell to US$ 297.6 million from US$ 1.2 billion in the year-ago period. In 2008, India’s exports to the US were US$ 25.86 billion while imports were US$ 17.33 billion.