Trade deficit narrows to $13.08 bn in December, lowest in 10 months on fall in gold imports; flat exports a concern

New Delhi: Trade deficit narrowed to $13.08 billion in December, the lowest in 10 months, on a fall in gold imports but exports remained flat, deepening concerns for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who wants to accelerate growth ahead of elections. Modi, who had promised to boost exports by easing administrative rules and building infrastructure for manufacturing in India, faces criticism from businesses for not doing enough in the last five years. [caption id=“attachment_4391813” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] India’s annual goods exports have remained flat around $300 billion, compared to $314.4 billion in 2013/14, since Modi took charge in May, 2014. “There is virtually no growth in merchandise exports,” said Ravi Sehgal, head of the Engineering Export Promotion Council, adding that US-China trade tensions and the global slowdown had started biting the shipments". He said exports of engineering goods, estimated to contribute more than one-fifth of total exports, had fallen by more than 3 percent in December from the same period in the previous year. “This is a matter of grave concern,” Sehgal said. In December, merchandise exports rose just 0.34 percent from a year earlier to $27.93 billion, while imports fell 2.44 percent to $41.01 billion, the trade ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Trade ministry officials had earlier said with the US-China trade dispute, there was an opportunity to boost exports such as chemicals, drugs and electrical machinery to China.     To keep watching India’s No. 1 English Business News Channel – CNBC-TV18, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family Pack (inclusive of 24 channels), available for Rs. 35/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 4/- per day. To keep watching the Leader in Global Market & Business News – CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family HD Pack (inclusive of 25 channels), available for Rs. 50/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 1/- per day.