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Exports post 0.5% growth in April-November, reverse five-month downtrend

India's merchandise exports rose in November, reversing five straight months of decline and some analysts were hopeful this could be the beginning of a recovery in the country's export performance.

Data released by the commerce ministry on Tuesday showed exports in November at $3.72 billion, up 3.29 per cent year-on-year.

For April-November, merchandise exports totalled $28.85 billion, up 0.5 per cent from a year earlier.

"Some improvement in growth is there and we expect the trend to continue in the remaining months of this financial year," trade analyst B B Bhattacharya told Reuters.

India's financial year runs from April to March.

The country's merchandise exports fell for the fifth successive month in October and analysts had then warned the decline would extend into the next year due to a global economic slowdown, particularly in the US which is India's largest trading partner.

Last month India cut its export growth target for the current fiscal to three per cent from 12 per cent, saying the September 11 air attacks on the United States had hit customer sentiment in its key overseas markets.

But now some analysts are hopeful that 2001-02 could end with a positive exports growth of three to four percent.

"We are improving new items like oil product exports as well as grain exports have added to the overall increase," Bhattacharya said.

SOME DOUBTS LINGER

Some analysts were sceptical about the overall export growth during the year saying one month's data was not enough to herald a trend.

"We have to wait and see the figures in the coming months before saying that recovery has started," T K Bhaumik, senior policy advisor to the Confederation of Indian Industry said.

Imports in November fell 10.97 per cent to $4.18 billion from $4.69 billion in the same month a year ago.

April-November imports were up 1.19 per cent over the same period in the previous year.

The trade deficit for April-November increased to $5.87 billion from $5.60 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Oil imports were down 13.1 per cent in April-November at $9.85 billion from $11.34 billion in the same period of last year.

Non-oil imports grew 8.30 per cent during the period to $24.87 billion from $22.97 billion.

Analysts said oil imports had gone down mainly because of a fall in global crude prices.

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