Bright spot on economy: Exports grow 57 pc in May

New Delhi, July 1 (PTI) Exports witnessed huge annualised
growth of 56.9 per cent to USD 25.9 billion in May in a bright
spot for the Indian economy, which is battling high inflation
amid signs of a slowdown.
In the April-May period, exports grew by 45 per cent to
USD 49.7 billion vis-a-vis the same period last year.
Imports, too, increased by 54 per cent to USD 40.9
billion in May -- the highest growth rate in the last four
years -- leaving a trade deficit of USD 14.9 billion.
In the first two months of the 2011-12 fiscal, imports
were up 33.3 per cent to USD 73.7 billion and the trade gap
for the period stood at USD 23.9 billion, as per data released
today.
In fact, the trend of healthy exports even in the
previous months helped the country moderate its current
account deficit to 2.6 per cent of the GDP in the last fiscal.
"This is a sign of robust scenario... coupled with
effective government initiative," exporters' body FIEO
President Ramu S Deora said. While the government has not
formally set an export target for the current fiscal, USD 300
billion can be achieved, according to industry estimates.
Exports grew by 37.5 per cent to USD 246 billion in
2010-11.
While there are signs of a slowdown in overall industrial
growth of 6.3 per cent and high inflation of over 9 per cent
in May, exporters have put out a sterling performance despite
the financial woes in several European economies.