October exports up 42% to $35.47 bn, trade deficit narrows to $19.9 bn

Merchandise exports continued to remain robust in the month of October, rising 42 per cent on-year to $35.47 billion, preliminary data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed. The growth was driven by higher demand for items such as engineering goods, petroleum products, gems and jewellery as well as organic and inorganic chemicals. Outbound shipments grew significantly as compared with the pre-Covid period, up 35.21 per cent from $26.23 billion in October 2019.
On a cumulative basis, India’s merchandise exports in April-October stood at $232.58 billion, up 54.51 per cent YoY and rising by a fourth over the same period in 2019. This means India has achieved 58 per cent of its export target of $400 billion for the current fiscal.