New Delhi [India], June 14 : India's overall exports for May 2024, encompassing both merchandise and services, surged to USD 68.29 billion, reflecting a substantial year-on-year increase of 10.2 per cent, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry on Friday.
Ashwani Kumar, President of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), highlighted that the positive growth trajectory observed in May 2024, driven by robust order bookings.
Kumar said, "Key sectors which have shown positive growth during the month of May 2024, include electronic goods, drugs & pharmaceuticals, organic & inorganic chemicals, engineering goods, petroleum products, plastics & linoleum, cotton yarn/fabs./made-ups, handloom products etc., man-made yarn/fabs./made-ups, handloom products etc., cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items, meat, dairy & poultry products, mica, coal & other ores, minerals including processed minerals, RMG of all textiles, tea, coffee, rice, tobacco, carpet and handicrafts, oil seeds and fruits & vegetables. Our exports in all our top ten markets (US, UAE, Netherland, UK, China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Germany and France) were positive and many of them recorded a healthy double-digit growth."
Kumar also emphasized that India's top ten export destinations, including the US, UAE, Netherlands, UK, China, and Germany, registered healthy double-digit growth rates.
This broad-based growth across sectors and geographies suggests a well-rounded and resilient export performance.
The President of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), Sanjeev Agrawal, remarked on the significant uptick in exports despite global geopolitical headwinds.
Agrawal said, "India's exports increase significantly despite geopolitical headwinds. The May 2024 exports of USD 68.2 Billion are higher than USD 61.9 Billion in May 2023, primarily driven by rising exports of petroleum products, engineering goods, electronic goods, drugs & pharmaceuticals, textiles, and among others. The total exports during April-May 2024 are estimated at USD 133.6 Billion registering a positive growth of 9.2 percent. We look forward to a great export growth trajectory in the current financial year."
Arun Kumar Garodia, Chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India, expressed a positive outlook for the engineering export sector.
Garodia said, "The global economic outlook is expected to improve in the ongoing fiscal and the exporting community remains optimistic. Softening price pressure and easing of interest rates in major advanced economies is set to spur demand. Additionally, there are some FTAs in the pipeline that could materialise in the ongoing fiscal which will certainly give big boost to the engineering sector."
However, he cautioned about the challenges posed by high ocean freight rates and competitive pressure from China, which is significantly increasing its shipments to the US ahead of potential new import duties.
He further said, "While both near and medium-term outlooks remain positive, exporters are facing the challenge of high ocean freight rates on some key routes. This could affect exports. Also, it has been seen that China is shipping large volumes to the US in the wake of additional import duties that could be applicable to Chinese goods from August this year."
Breaking down the figures, merchandise exports witnessed a 9.1 per cent rise to USD 38.13 billion, while service exports climbed by 11.7 per cent, reaching USD 30.16 billion.
This growth is indicative of the sustained demand for Indian goods and services across various global markets, demonstrating the country's expanding footprint in international trade.
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