{"id":46043,"date":"2018-06-30T17:28:10","date_gmt":"2018-06-30T11:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=46043"},"modified":"2018-06-30T17:29:14","modified_gmt":"2018-06-30T11:59:14","slug":"exports-fall-in-four-years-of-modi-govt-in-2017-export-to-gdp-ratio-was-lowest-since-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/india-news\/exports-fall-in-four-years-of-modi-govt-in-2017-export-to-gdp-ratio-was-lowest-since-2005\/","title":{"rendered":"Exports fall in four years of Modi govt, in 2017 export-to-GDP ratio was lowest since 2005"},"content":{"rendered":"

In yet another blow to Modi government\u2019s propaganda of all round progress, the analysis found that in contrast to its performance in this aspect, the 10 years of the two United Progressive Alliance (UPA-1 and UPA-2) administrations saw 11 percent to 33 percent growth in India’s merchandise exports. Services exports are excluded from this analysis because they are limited to certain geographies because of trade agreements, said IndiaSpend.<\/p>\n

Moreover, this decline cannot be attributed to the global trend. The growth rate of goods traded across the world grew 3 percent over the four years to 2018 and grew by 3.3 percent (2009 to 2013) \u2013 according to International Monetary Fund.<\/p>\n

Various experts attributed the Indian export decline to domestic factors, such as demonetisation, a new goods and services tax (GST)<\/a> and a new bankruptcy code, said IndiaSpend.<\/p>\n

Merchandise exports to China grew between 2014 and 2018 but at less than 1 percent while imports grew at 11 percent; during 10 years of UPA rule, exports to China grew 13 percent and imports 30 percent.<\/p>\n

India’s exports to Africa between 2014 and 2018 dipped by 4.22 percent and imports increased 1 percent; during 10 years of UPA rule, exports to Africa increased 22 percent and imports 59 percent.<\/p>\n

Overall Indian imports of merchandise grew by 1.6 percent to $465 billion over this period.<\/p>\n

India’s exports-to-gross-domestic-product (GDP) ratio at 11.44 percent in 2017 was the lowest since 2005, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Outlook Report 2018.<\/p>\n

High trade deficit <\/strong><\/p>\n

Slowing exports and increase in imports (an average annual increase of 1.6 percent from 2014-15 to 2017-18) has pushed the trade deficit from $137 billion in 2014-15 to $162 billion in 2017-18, the highest since 2012-13.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are facing serious headwinds at a time when the global economy post 2008 had become extremely fragile,\u201d commerce minister Suresh Prabhu<\/a> was quoted as saying in The Indian Express on 18 June, 2018.<\/p>\n

India’s trade openness \u2013 the sum of exports and imports to GDP \u2013 was 27 percent in 2016, according to the IMF database, compared to an all-time high of 43 percent in 2012.\u00a0 Trade openness is an indicator of the economy\u2019s participation in global trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first of the policy moves was the unique demonetisation experiment,\u201d Ruchir Sharma, chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley, wrote in The Times of India on 4 October, 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second was the goods and services tax, which was supposed to bring India in line with global standards but instead added typically Indian layers of complexity. These policies disrupted local businesses, including exporters. Imports have surged to meet consumer demand, widening the trade deficit and cutting into GDP growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The view was echoed by economists Dharmakirti Joshi, Adhish Verma and Pankhuri Tandon. \u201cThe implementation of the goods and services tax and associated glitches have had an impact, particularly on small and medium enterprises \u2013 evident in low export growth in gems and jewellery, textiles, and leather sectors,\u201d they wrote in a report for Crisil, a ratings agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"