Riding high on the prospects of a bullish Indian economy, the government has set a target of $92 billion for merchandise export for the current fiscal and said the high trade deficit seen in April was "not a matter of concern."
"We have set a merchandise export target of $92 billion for this fiscal and we are hoping that the total global engagement of the Indian economy touches the $500-billion mark," Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath told reporters on the sidelines of a international diamond conference in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The country's total merchandise export stands at $80 billion in 2004-05 while its engagement in the global economy is $180 billion, he said.
Referring to the surging imports in April and issue of trade deficit the minister said, "Trade deficit is not a matter of concern as growth is on the right track. Even strong economies like US have high trade deficits."
The trade deficit in April jumped three-fold to $3.85 billion from $1.29 billion in April 2004.
The exports rose to $6.56 billion during April compared to $5.60 billion in April 2004-05 while imports jumped to $10.42 billion against $6.90 billion during the same month a year ago.
"The economy is on a growth trajectory and our total exports are rising. We are venturing into newer markets in the CSI countries and sectors like leather and fruits are growing strong," he said.
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