By IANS
New Delhi : The performance of India's external sector started on a strong note for the current fiscal, with merchandise exports registering a 23.06 percent growth in April at $10.575 billion, against $8.59 billion in April 2006.
In rupee terms, however, exports grew by only 15.39 percent at Rs.445.72 billion, against 386.27 billion in April 2006, according to official trade data released Friday by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence Statistics.
India's merchandise imports during the month under review were valued at $17.63 million, representing an increase of 40.69 percent over $12.53 billion logged in April 2006.
In rupee terms, the imports increased by 31.93 percent at 74.33 billion, against 56.34 billion in April 2006, the data showed.
Accordingly, the trade deficit for April 2007 was estimated at $7.06 billion, as against $3.94 billion during the same month of the previous year.
Oil imports grew by 11.4 percent to $4.42 billion during April 2007 from $3.97 billion in the corresponding month of last year, while non-oil imports expanded by 54.19 percent to $13.21 billion from $8.56 billion during the period in 2006.