Exports clock 11% in October at $19.8 billion

Register lowest growth due to dip in demand

But imports rose at a faster pace of 21.7 per cent to $39.5 billion backed by expensive crude and vegetable oil, widening the trade deficit to a four-year high of $19.6 billion in a single month.

Trade deficit for April-October period was $93.7 billion as against $85.6 billion last year, a government data said.

Although the government did not give any reasons for fall in current month’s export growth, analysts believe falling demand from traditional markets of the Unites States and Europe have led to the drop in outward shipment of goods from India.

A government release said, rise in imports were due to expensive crude oil and vegetable oil. During April-October, oil imports stood at $81.9 billion, an increase of 40 per cent. The non-oil imports rose by 27.1 per cent to $191.5 billion.

This is the fourth consecutive month of fall in exports. The export growth was as high as 82 per cent in July this year, but the continuing debt crisis in the country’s largest market of Europe and a slower than expected recovery in the US sharpened the fall in outbound shipments.

In August, export growth slid to 44.25 per cent and further, in September to 36.36 per cent.  Exports in April-October period, however, posted an impressive growth of 45.9 per cent at $179.7 billion.

While announcing the provisional trade data last month, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar had said that the balance of trade may breach $150 billion mark in fiscal 2011-12 as imports have risen to $273.5 billion in the last seven months.