India’s trade deficit widens to record high in November

New Delhi: India’s trade deficit has surged to a record high in November. As per data, trade deficit touched  $37.8 billion in November. The unprecedented rise in gold imports and a decline in exports is the main reason for this. Trade deficit is the difference between imports and exports.

 

 

The country’s imports surged 27% to an all-time high of nearly $70 billion. India’s gold imports reached a record high of $14.86 billion in November 2024, marking a fourfold increase compared to $3.44 billion in November 2023. Gold has become  the second-largest import item after petroleum. Cumulatively, from April to November 2024, the country imported gold worth $49 billion, a significant 49% rise over the same period in the previous fiscal year, when imports stood at $32.93 billion.

Imports of various other commodities also witnessed significant growth, including electronic products (up 17.4%), petroleum products (7.9%), electrical machinery (12.8%), chemicals (6.5%), and vegetable oil, which saw a staggering 87.8% increase.

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Data released by the commerce ministry showed a 27% year-on-year (y-o-y) surge in merchandise imports, accompanied by a 4.9% y-o-y fall in exports in November.

Imports in November shot up to $69.95 billion, compared to $55.06 billion in November 2023. And merchandise exports dropped to $32.11 billion in November, compared to $33.75 billion in November 2023.India’s non-petroleum exports in November reached $28.40 billion, up from $26.36 billion in the same month last year, reflecting a 7.4% growth.

In this period, merchandise exports were driven by electronic goods (7.9% y-o-y growth), engineering goods (26.87%), rice (13.35%) drugs and pharmaceuticals (6.76%), and ready-made garments (15.21%). Major imports included crude oil (7.15% y-o-y growth), electronic goods (10.54%) and gold (49.02%).

India’s major export destinations during this period were the US, UAE, the Netherlands, the UK and Singapore. China, UAE, Russia, US, Saudi Arab and Iraq remained the top suppliers, reflecting the country’s dependence on oil imports.