Exports grow 6.7 per cent to $25 billion in December

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Exports grew by merely 6.7 per cent to USD 25 billion in December 2011 compared to the same month last year due to demand slowdown in the western markets of the US and Europe.

On the other hand, imports were up by 19.8 per cent year-on-year to USD 37.7 billion in the month, according to the Commerce Ministry data released on Monday.

In December 2010, exports stood at USD 23.4 billion, while imports were worth USD 31.5 billion. The trade deficit stood at USD 12.7 billion in December 2011 compared to USD 8 billion in the same period last year.

A muted export growth is mainly due to declining demand from Europe and the US.

Due to better performance in the previous months, the country's exports grew by 25.8 per cent year-on-year to USD 217.6 billion in the April-December 2011-12.

During the first nine months of the fiscal, imports also rose by 30.3 per cent to USD 350.9 billion leaving a trade gap of USD 133.2 billion.

In December, oil imports grew by 11.2 per cent to USD 10.2 billion. Non-oil imports rose by 23.3 per cent to USD 27.4 billion over the year-ago period.

During April-December, oil imports stood at USD 105.5 billion, an increase of 40.3 per cent. Non-oil imports rose by 26.5 per cent to USD 245.3 billion.