Reboot Export Strategies

The growth of Indian merchandise exports, which sharply bounced back after the pandemic to register a record growth of 44.8% in 2021–22, has suddenly tapered off. Monthly numbers show that the merchandise export growth, which averaged around a quarter in the first few months of 2022–23, has suddenly stagnated and even declined in the last three months ending November 2022. Though the overall exports during April to November 2022 still show a healthy double-digit growth of 11.1%, the numbers are misleading. This is because most of this growth was fuelled by oil exports, which shot up by almost half, even while growth of non-oil exports slumped to just 2.4% during the period.

The export slump in 2022–23 has been extensive with growth slowing down in five of India’s top 10 markets. The worst-hit merchandise export markets were China and Bangladesh, where exports have even declined in the first eight months of the fiscal year. The other markets badly affected include those in the advanced economies like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, which are in the grip of a slowdown. However, exports to other major markets like the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia have remained robust till now.