In the first half of 2023, India’s combined exports and imports of goods and services surpassed the milestone of US$ 800 billion, despite a global demand slowdown. This achievement was attributed to a robust growth in India’s services sectors, as per findings from the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). The total foreign trade of India, encompassing exports and imports of both merchandise and services, reached a value of US$ 800.9 billion between January and June 2023.
Within this period, the GTRI data revealed that exports of goods and services grew by 1.5%, reaching US$ 385.4 billion, compared to the US$ 379.5 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2022. Conversely, imports decreased by 5.9%, declining from US$ 441.7 billion in January-June 2022 to US$ 415.5 billion in the first half of 2023.
In contrast, services exports witnessed a significant uptick of 17.7% during the six-month span, amounting to US$ 166.7 billion. Similarly, service imports increased by 3.7%, reaching US$ 89.8 billion.
Mr. Ajay Srivastava, a Co-Founder of GTRI, emphasized the need for India to focus on enhancing product quality and supply chain competitiveness. He stressed that even as major nations adopt more inward-looking policies, India should not forfeit its policy flexibility, particularly concerning emerging concerns like free trade agreements and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). To counter unilateral policy actions such as the EU Deforestation Regulation or the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), Mr. Srivastava recommended a preparedness for targeted and specific responses. He cited India’s successful response in 2019 when it imposed higher duties on US goods following similar actions taken by the US in 2018 on steel and aluminium.
Mr. Srivastava also suggested that a horizontal plan offering incentives of 2-3% to all companies in the industry could help defray some of the costs associated with disability.
The report highlighted that during January-June 2023, 11 out of 29 product categories, constituting a quarter of India’s exports, displayed positive export growth. Noteworthy among these were ceramic products, boilers, turbines, machinery, telecom, computers, and electronics. Smartphone exports surged to US$ 7.5 billion from US$ 2.5 billion in the same period of 2022.
Concerning oil imports, figures revealed a decrease from US$ 79.2 billion in January-June 2022 to US$ 73.2 billion in January-June 2023. However, Russia’s share of India’s petroleum crude imports saw a significant increase from 6.4% in January-June 2022 to 31.3% during the same period in 2023.
