India's merchandise trade deficit fell to $18.8 billion in June from $21.88 billion in May, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.
Merchandise exports were flat on an annual basis at $35.14 billion in June, while merchandise imports contracted 3.7% annually to $53.9 billion.
Services exports are estimated to have grown 14.5% to $32.8 billion, while imports are estimated to have grown 16.1% to $17.6 billion. As such, overall exports growth is pegged at 6.5%, while imports have grown by 0.5%.
For the quarter, merchandise exports grew by 1.9%, while imports grew by 4.2%. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that despite ongoing trade uncertainties, Q1 trade figures show India has achieved $210 billion in merchandise and services, a growth of 6% from same quarter last year.
The ministry is also monitoring import surges across all commodities, Barthwal said, adding that surge reports are sent to different ministries and they are being curbed by the DGFT if need be. Illegal imports have gone down post the notification, Barthwal added.
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