By IANS
New Delhi : India's merchandise exports were up 20.37 percent in the first two months of the current fiscal even as the government feared a dip in the growth due to a rising rupee that make exports dearer in dollar terms.
The cumulative value of India's merchandise exports for the period of April-May, 2007, was valued at $22.436 billion against $18.639 billion in the like period of the previous year, trade data released Monday showed.
The cumulative value of imports for the period under review was $35.713 billion, against $26.841 billion during the same period last year, according to the data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.
Asked how the double-digit growth was achieved despite complaints by exporters that their business has been eroded due to a rising rupee, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said: "We expect a dip from this month. There is always a lag."
The trade deficit for the April-May period expanded to $13.27 billion from $8.20 billion during the corresponding period of last fiscal.
Oil imports during the period grew only marginally by 1.01 percent to $9.16 billion from $9.07 billion in the like period last year. But non-oil imports jumped 49.42 percent at $26.54 billion from $17.767 billion.