INDIA'S FOREIGN TRADE: February 2018

I. MERCHANDISE TRADE

EXPORTS (including re-exports)

New Delhi: Exports during February 2018 have exhibited positive growth of 4.48 per cent in dollar terms vis-à-vis February2017. Exports have been on a positive trajectory since August 2016 to February 2018except for a temporary setback in October 2017.

Exports during February 2018were valued at US$ 25834.36million as compared to US$ 24726.71 million during February 2017. In Rupee terms, exports were valued at Rs.166305.72 crore as compared to Rs.165855.64 crore during February 2017, registering a riseof 0.27 per cent.      

During February 2018, major commodity groups of export showing positive growth over the corresponding month of last year are Petroleum Products (27.44%), Organic & Inorganic Chemicals (30.41%), Drugs & Pharmaceuticals (13.92%), Rice (21.29%) & Electronic Goods (29.71%).

Cumulative value of exports for the period April-February 2017-18 was US$273730.91 million (Rs1762897.63 crore) as against US $246550.17 million (Rs1656399.85 crore) registering a positive growth of 11.02per cent in Dollar terms and 6.43per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.

Non-petroleum and Non Gems & Jewellery exports in February 2018 were valued at US$ 18792.79 million as against US$ 18176.00 million in February 2017, an increase of 3.39%. Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports during April-February 2017-18 were valued at US$ 200030.96 million as compared to US$ 179457.88 million for the corresponding period in 2016-17, an increase of 11.46%.

IMPORTS

Imports during February 2018 were valued at US$ 37813.57 million (Rs243420.48 crore) which was 10.41 per cent higher in Dollar terms and 5.96 per cent higher in Rupee terms over the level of imports valued at US$ 34248.44 million (Rs. 229723.10 crore) in February 2017. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-February 2017-18 was US$ 416865.64 million (Rs. 2684600.75 crore) as against US$ 344408.90 million (Rs. 2314510.09 crore) registering a positive growth of 21.04per cent in Dollar terms and 15.99per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.

Major commodity groups of import showing high growth in February 2018 over the corresponding month of last year are Petroleum, Crude & products (32.05%), Electronic goods (18.95%), Machinery, electrical & non-electrical (23.04%), Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones (15.86%) and Coal, Coke & Briquettes, etc. (17.73%).

CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS:

Oil imports during February 2018 were valued at US$ 10194.33million which was 32.05percent higher than oil imports valued at US$ 7719.84 million in February 2017.Oil imports during April-February 2017-18 were valued at US$ 98002.25 million which was 26.92per cent higher than the oil imports of US$ 77213.52 million in the corresponding period last year.

In this connection it is mentioned that the global Brent prices ($/bbl) have increased by 17.90% in February 2018 vis-à-vis February 2017 as per World Bank commodity price data (The pink sheet).

Non-oil imports during February 2018 were estimated at US$ 27619.24 million which was 4.11per cent higher than non-oil imports of US$ 26528.60 million in February 2017.Non-oil imports during April-February 2017-18 were valued at US$ 318863.39 million which was 19.34per cent higher than the level of such imports valued at US$ 267195.38 million in April-February, 2016-17.

II. TRADE IN SERVICES (for January, 2018, as per the RBI Press Release dated 15th March 2018)

EXPORTS (Receipts)

Exports during January2018 were valued at US$ 16,337 million (Rs. 103963.60Crore) registering apositive growth of 2.07per cent in dollar terms as compared to positive growth of 3.98per cent during December2017 (as per RBI’s Press Release for the respective months).

IMPORTS (Payments)

Imports during January2018 were valued at US$ 9,847 million (Rs. 62663.25 Crore) registering a negativegrowth of 0.12 per cent in dollar terms as compared topositive growth of 2.20per cent during December2017 (as per RBI’s Press Release for the respective months).

III.TRADE BALANCE

MERCHANDISE: The trade deficit for February 2018 was estimated at US$ 11979.21millionas against the deficit of US$ 9521.73million during February 2017.

SERVICES: As per RBI’s Press Release dated 15th March 2018, the trade balance in Services (i.e. net export of Services) for January,2018 was estimated at US$ 6,490 million.

OVERALL TRADE BALANCE:Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade deficit for April-February 2017-18 is estimated at US$ 85704.73million as compared to US$ 44381.73million during April-February2016-17. (Services data pertains to April-January2017-18 as January2018 is the latest data available as per RBI’s Press Release dated 15th March2018)

MERCHANDISE TRADE

EXPORTS & IMPORTS: (US $ Million)
(PROVISIONAL)
	FEBRUARY	APRIL-FEBRUARY
EXPORTS (including re-exports)
2016-17	24726.71	246550.17
2017-18	25834.36	273730.91
%Growth 2017-18/ 2016-17	4.48	11.02
IMPORTS
2016-17	34248.44	344408.90
2017-18	37813.57	416865.64
%Growth 2017-18/ 2016-17	10.41	21.04
TRADE BALANCE
2016-17	-9521.73	-97858.73
2017-18	-11979.21	-143134.73
EXPORTS & IMPORTS: (Rs. Crore)
(PROVISIONAL)
	FEBRUARY	APRIL-FEBRUARY
EXPORTS(including re-exports)
2016-17	165855.64	1656399.85
2017-18	166305.72	1762897.63
%Growth 2017-18/ 2016-17	0.27	6.43
IMPORTS
2016-17	229723.10	2314510.09
2017-18	243420.48	2684600.75
%Growth 2017-18/ 2016-17	5.96	15.99
TRADE BALANCE
2016-17	-63867.46	-658110.25
2017-18	-77114.76	-921703.13

 

SERVICES TRADE

EXPORTS & IMPORTS (SERVICES) : (US $ Million)
(Provisional)	January 2018
EXPORTS (Receipts)	16337
IMPORTS (Payments)	9847
TRADE BALANCE	6490
EXPORTS & IMPORTS (SERVICES): (Rs. Crore)
(Provisional)	January 2018
EXPORTS (Receipts)	103963.60
IMPORTS (Payments)	62663.25
TRADE BALANCE	41300.35
Source: RBI Press Release dated 15th March, 2018

 

QUICK ESTIMATES FOR SELECTED MAJOR COMMODITIES FOR FEBRUARY 2018 TRADE: EXPORT

Sl. No.	Commodities	(Values in Rs. crores)		% change
		FEB'17	FEB'18	FEB'18
1	Tea	384.91	401.06	4.20
2	Coffee	496.93	527.11	6.07
3	Rice	3784.01	4404.79	16.41
4	Other cereals	101.80	174.36	71.28
5	Tobacco	673.51	532.96	-20.87
6	Spices	1623.81	1707.89	5.18
7	Cashew	412.13	383.82	-6.87
8	Oil Meals	738.06	528.49	-28.39
9	Oil seeds	894.43	556.06	-37.83
10	Fruits & Vegetables	1694.21	1715.92	1.28
11	Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items	638.57	798.49	25.04
12	Marine Products	2729.82	2964.90	8.61
13	Meat, dairy & poultry products	2598.01	1779.71	-31.50
14	Iron Ore	1321.19	809.34	-38.74
15	Mica, Coal & Other Ores, Minerals including processed minerals	2330.53	2139.05	-8.22
16	Leather & leather products	2745.33	2727.81	-0.64
17	Ceramic products & glassware	971.61	1233.61	26.96
18	Gems &Jewellery	26905.03	24494.89	-8.96
19	Drugs & Pharmaceuticals	8170.61	8932.82	9.33
20	Organic & Inorganic Chemicals	8570.08	10725.89	25.16
21	Engineering Goods	44769.23	42160.11	-5.83
22	Electronic Goods	3112.28	3874.27	24.48
23	Cotton Yarn/Fabs./made-ups, Handloom Products etc.	5761.52	5515.04	-4.28
24	Man-made Yarn/Fabs./made-ups etc.	2590.45	2559.98	-1.18
25	RMG of all Textiles	10767.74	9275.08	-13.86
26	Jute Mfg. including Floor Covering	155.71	165.57	6.33
27	Carpet	897.65	735.63	-18.05
28	Handicrafts excl. handmade carpet	996.66	1000.57	0.39
29	Petroleum Products	17034.13	20834.36	22.31
30	Plastic & Linoleum	3316.88	3798.45	14.52
	Sub-Total	157186.82	157458.01	0.17
	GRAND   TOTAL	165855.64	166305.72	0.27

Note: The figures for FEBRUARY'18 and FEBRUARY'17 are provisional and subject to change

QUICK ESTIMATES FOR SELECTED MAJOR COMMODITIES FOR FEBRUARY 2018

TRADE: EXPORT

Sl. No.	Commodities	(Values in Million USD)		% change
		FEB'17	FEB'18	FEB'18
1	Tea	57.38	62.30	8.57
2	Coffee	74.08	81.88	10.53
3	Rice	564.14	684.25	21.29
4	Other cereals	15.18	27.09	78.46
5	Tobacco	100.41	82.79	-17.55
6	Spices	242.09	265.31	9.59
7	Cashew	61.44	59.62	-2.96
8	Oil Meals	110.03	82.10	-25.38
9	Oil seeds	133.35	86.38	-35.22
10	Fruits & Vegetables	252.58	266.56	5.53
11	Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items	95.20	124.04	30.29
12	Marine Products	406.98	460.57	13.17
13	Meat, dairy & poultry products	387.33	276.46	-28.62
14	Iron Ore	196.97	125.73	-36.17
15	Mica, Coal & Other Ores, Minerals including processed minerals	347.45	332.29	-4.36
16	Leather & leather products	409.29	423.74	3.53
17	Ceramic products & glassware	144.85	191.63	32.30
18	Gems &Jewellery	4011.16	3805.10	-5.14
19	Drugs & Pharmaceuticals	1218.12	1387.65	13.92
20	Organic & Inorganic Chemicals	1277.68	1666.19	30.41
21	Engineering Goods	6674.45	6549.27	-1.88
22	Electronic Goods	464.00	601.84	29.71
23	Cotton Yarn/Fabs./made-ups, Handloom Products etc.	858.96	856.72	-0.26
24	Man-made Yarn/Fabs./made-ups etc.	386.20	397.67	2.97
25	RMG of all Textiles	1605.32	1440.82	-10.25
26	Jute Mfg. including Floor Covering	23.21	25.72	10.81
27	Carpet	133.83	114.27	-14.62
28	Handicrafts excl. handmade carpet	148.59	155.43	4.60
29	Petroleum Products	2539.55	3236.47	27.44
30	Plastic & Linoleum	494.50	590.06	19.32
	Sub-Total	23434.32	24459.95	4.38
	GRAND   TOTAL	24726.71	25834.36	4.48

Note: The figures for FEBRUARY'18 and FEBRUARY'17 are provisional and subject to change 

QUICK ESTIMATES FOR SELECTED MAJOR COMMODITIES FOR FEBRUARY 2018

TRADE: IMPORT

Sl. No.	Commodities	(Values in Rs. crores)		% change
		FEB'17	FEB'18	FEB'18
1	Cotton Raw & Waste	213.25	277.40	30.08
2	Vegetable Oil	6320.38	5359.15	-15.21
3	Pulses	2869.72	398.32	-86.12
4	Fruits & vegetables	1034.25	1065.15	2.99
5	Pulp and Waste paper	444.82	585.08	31.53
6	Textile yarn Fabric, made-up articles	729.94	987.21	35.25
7	Fertilisers, Crude & manufactured	1128.21	1430.51	26.79
8	Sulphur & Unroasted Iron Pyrites	43.35	122.00	181.43
9	Metalliferous ores & other minerals	4761.16	4857.77	2.03
10	Coal, Coke & Briquettes, etc.	11015.45	12446.23	12.99
11	Petroleum, Crude & products	51781.21	65624.81	26.73
12	Wood &  Wood products	2388.90	2952.94	23.61
13	Leather & leather products	496.66	591.84	19.16
14	Organic & Inorganic Chemicals	9501.32	11299.82	18.93
15	Dyeing/tanning/colouring materials.	1340.49	1451.54	8.28
16	Artificial resins, plastic materials, etc.	6024.97	7612.06	26.34
17	Chemical material & products	3036.85	3502.96	15.35
18	Newsprint	457.03	295.44	-35.36
19	Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones	15010.06	16689.72	11.19
20	Iron & Steel	6340.36	7386.42	16.50
21	Non-ferrous metals	5165.11	6577.93	27.35
22	Machine tools	1521.87	2139.92	40.61
23	Machinery, electrical & non-electrical	15684.92	18521.14	18.08
24	Transport equipment	16661.26	8141.66	-51.13
25	Project goods	890.04	1518.39	70.60
26	Professional instrument, Optical goods, etc.	2038.15	2344.13	15.01
27	Electronic goods	22725.50	25942.92	14.16
28	Medicinal & Pharmaceutical products	2458.03	2910.47	18.41
29	Gold	23342.87	18613.25	-20.26
30	Silver	992.50	1949.21	96.39
	Sub-Total	216418.63	233595.39	7.94
	GRAND   TOTAL	229723.10	243420.48	5.96

Note: The figures for FEBRUARY'18 and FEBRUARY'17 are provisional and subject to change

QUICK ESTIMATES FOR SELECTED MAJOR COMMODITIES FOR FEBRUARY 2018

TRADE: IMPORT

Sl. No.	Commodities	(Values in Million USD)		% change
		FEB'17	FEB'18	FEB'18
1	Cotton Raw & Waste	31.79	43.09	35.55
2	Vegetable Oil	942.28	832.50	-11.65
3	Pulses	427.83	61.88	-85.54
4	Fruits & vegetables	154.19	165.46	7.31
5	Pulp and Waste paper	66.32	90.89	37.05
6	Textile yarn Fabric, made-up articles	108.82	153.36	40.93
7	Fertilisers, Crude & manufactured	168.20	222.22	32.12
8	Sulphur & Unroasted Iron Pyrites	6.46	18.95	193.34
9	Metalliferous ores & other minerals	709.82	754.62	6.31
10	Coal, Coke & Briquettes, etc.	1642.25	1933.43	17.73
11	Petroleum, Crude & products	7719.84	10194.33	32.05
12	Wood &  Wood products	356.15	458.72	28.80
13	Leather & leather products	74.04	91.94	24.18
14	Organic & Inorganic Chemicals	1416.51	1755.34	23.92
15	Dyeing/tanning/colouring materials.	199.85	225.49	12.83
16	Artificial resins, plastic materials, etc.	898.24	1182.48	31.64
17	Chemical material & products	452.75	544.16	20.19
18	Newsprint	68.14	45.89	-32.65
19	Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones	2237.79	2592.63	15.86
20	Iron & Steel	945.26	1147.43

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.