Economy Updates - Exports down 18% to $12 bn in March 2009

April 7/09(India Economy Updates) - The country seems all set to miss the pared down export target for 2008-09 with exports recording a fall in March 2009, for the sixth time in a row. Quick estimates made by the commerce department reveal that exports fell by 18% in March 2009 to $12 billion.

The aggregate export figure for the entire fiscal is, therefore, at $168.59 billion, which is more than a billion dollar short of the lower range of the revised target of $170-175 billion set by the government. The unofficial quick estimates, however, are sometimes quite different from the revised estimates officially issued at the end of the month.

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While desegregated figures are not available, a government official said that sectors such as textiles, handicrafts, carpets, leather, gems & jewellery and marine products continued to do badly. While demand for some of these products, especially textiles, has started picking up slightly in the EU market, demand from the US continues to be sluggish, the official added.

India exported goods worth $162 billion in 2008-09 registering a healthy growth over the previous fiscal. The 2008-09 fiscal began on a robust note with exports growing by more than 30% in the first six months. While the effects of the global demand slowdown started appearing in September with export growth slowing down to 10% in September 2008, the downslide started in October 2008 with exports entering the negative territory with a fall of 12.8% over October 2007.

Exports have not managed to get out of the negative zone ever since. Commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath, who had initially fixed the export target for 2008-2009 at $200 billion, brought it down to $170 billion-$175 billion in the last quarter of the fiscal year.

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With demand in key markets including the US, the EU and Japan slowing down, exports in most countries have been hit.

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