Driven by higher exports, especially to North America, India’s Export-Import (Exim) trade registered a 9% year-on-year growth during last year as against 4% global average growth.
According to the Maersk Line report released on Tuesday, in the fourth quarter of 2017, India recorded a strong 14% containerised export growth, exceeding collective increases seen in the previous quarters, resulting in full-year growth of 10% in containerised cargo.
Imports slowed down to 8% y-o-y in 2017 due to dip in imports from North America and Mediterranean countries.
India’s trade with North America grew at 9% last year, which is almost double the pace seen in the previous year.
“Unlike in 2016, when India’s northern states almost single-handedly drove the country’s overall import-export growth, in 2017, the credit for this would go to the eastern region. This was mainly due to increases in throughput clocked by Haldia and Visakhapatnam ports at 77% and 28% year on year, respectively. Together they helped the eastern region’s contribution to global exports grow 19% YoY, which, in turn, became a key driver of India’s overall import-export rise of 9%. A major part of this export-led growth for the region came from its trade with North America. However, in volume terms, it was East India’s exports to the Mediterranean countries which resulted in the region clocking an outstanding YoY increase of 24% in 2017,” read the report.
In 2016, exports had risen by just a percent, primarily due to note ban and goods and services tax implementation that was to follow.
Currently, containerisation in India stands at 55% of total Exim export trade.
In a statement, Steve Felder, managing director for Maersk India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives, said, “Over the past year, we have seen an increase in automotive original equipment manufacturers opting for containerisation of their vehicle shipments from India.”
This increase seen in the automotive sector exports helped grow India’s overall auto exports by 20% in 2017, which were headed mainly for the United States, Algeria and Russia.
BALANCE SHIFTS
- The global average growth in Exim trade was just 4%
- Imports slowed down to 8% in 2017 due to dip in imports from North America, Mediterranean countries
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