Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday said that India has achieved its highest-ever monthly exports of USD 37 billion in December 2021, registering a jump of 37% from figures of December 2020.
The minister was addressing a press conference in Delhi. “India has achieved the highest ever monthly exports of $37 billion in December 2021, which is a 37% jump over figures of December 2020,” said Goyal while addressing the media. Goyal said the country is on track to achieve an export target of 400 billion USD, adding that the top 10 major commodity groups constituting 80% of exports have grown by 41% over last December. “We are on track to achieve an export target of $400 billion. The top 10 major commodity groups constituting 80% of exports have grown by 41% over last December,” said the minister.
He said that Uttar Pradesh is one of the best performing states in terms of the ‘One District, One Product’ scheme. “It is expected that UP exports will rise to Rs 2 lakh crore in the current financial year,” he added. The ODOP scheme by the UP government focuses on boosting the economy of the state by encouraging indigenous and specialised products of the various districts.
Goyal said that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 will be a short-term disruption. “Omicron will be a short-term disruption for businesses but supply chains and industrial activities will continue at full speed,” said Goyal. “India’s merchandise export in April-December 2021 was 299.74 billion USD, an increase of 48.85% over 201.37 billion USD in April-December 2020 and an increase of 25.80% over USD 238.27 billion in April-December 2019,” he added.
The minister called this achievement “historic” and attributed it to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also congratulated all the Export Promotion Councils (EPC), exporters, and Indian Embassy officials all across the globe for contributing to this historic achievement.
Coming to exports, the minister said, “India’s merchandise import in April-December 2021 was USD 443.71 billion, an increase of 69.27% over USD 262.13 billion in April-December 2020 and an increase of 21.84% over USD 364.18 billion in April-December 2019. The trade deficit in December 2021 was USD 21.99 billion, while it was 143.97 billion USD during April-December 2021.” Goyal said that the service sector has an important role in achieving this milestone. “During 9 months (April-December 2021) services sector has seen export of USD 178 billion as compared to USD 150 billion in (April-December 2020).”
Replying to a question on the Comprehensive Trade Partnership agreement with the UAE, he said it is close to conclusion. “India is near conclusion of free trade agreement deal with Australia,” he added. Goyal is hopeful that India will launch trade negotiations with Britain this month and hopes to conclude an interim trade deal by March 2022. Goyal said that India will also launch trade negotiations with Canada and Israel soon.