India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-October 2018-19* are estimated to be USD 308.32 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 17.17 per cent over the same period last year. Overall imports in April-October 2018-19* are estimated to be USD 374.88 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 18.88 per cent over the same period last year.

*Note: Services data pertains to April-September 2018-19 as September 2018 is the latest data available as per RBI’s Press Release dated 15th November 2018. It is arrived at by adding Month-wise QE data of RBI’s press release for April to September 2018-19. This data is provisional and subject to revision by RBI. In addition, it may be noted that data for October 2018 is estimated and added to the April-September 2018-19 data of RBI to calculate the Overall Trade Deficit for April-October 2018-19. It will be revised based on RBI’s next press release for October 2018.

I. MERCHANDISE TRADE

EXPORTS (including re-exports)

Exports in October 2018 were US $ 26.98 Billion, as compared to US $ 22.89 Billion in October 2017, exhibiting a positive growth of 17.86 per cent. In Rupee terms, exports were ₹ 1,98,634.84 Crore in October 2018, as compared to ₹ 1,48,962.64 Crore in October 2017, registering a positive growth of 33.35 per cent.       

In October 2018, major commodity groups of export showing positive growth over the corresponding month of last year are

Cumulative value of exports for the period April-October 2018-19 was US $ 191.01 Billion (Rs. 13,23,940.28 Crore) as against US $ 168.64 Billion (Rs. 10,87,270.47 Crore) during the period April-October 2017-18, registering a positive growth of 13.27 per cent in Dollar terms (21.77 per cent in Rupee terms).

Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in October 2018 were US $ 18.94 Billion, as compared to US $ 16.54 Billion in October 2017, exhibiting a positive growth of 14.54 per cent. Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in April-October 2018-19 were US $ 137.98 Billion, as compared to US $ 124.45 Billion for the corresponding period in 2017-18, an increase of 10.88 %.

IMPORTS

Imports in October 2018 were US $ 44.11 Billion (Rs. 3,24,774.78 Crore), which was 17.62 per cent higher in Dollar terms and 33.07 per cent higher in Rupee terms over imports of US $ 37.50 Billion (Rs. 2,44,064.20 Crore) in October 2017. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-October 2018-19 was US $ 302.47 Billion (Rs. 20,97,058.41Crore), as against US $ 259.92 Billion (Rs. 16,75,887.95 Crore) during the period April-October 2017-18, registering a positive growth of 16.37 per cent in Dollar terms (25.13 per cent in Rupee terms).

Major commodity groups of import showing high growth in October 2018 over the corresponding month of last year are:

CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS:

Oil imports in October 2018 were US $ 14.21 Billion (Rs. 1,04,630.60 Crore), which was 52.64 percent higher in Dollar terms (72.70 percent higher in Rupee terms), compared to US $ 9.31 Billion (Rs. 60,586.10 Crore) in October 2017. Oil imports in April-October 2018-19 were US $ 83.94 Billion (Rs. 5,82,813.70 Crore) which was 50.48 per cent higher in Dollar terms (62.01 percent higher in Rupee terms) compared to US $ 55.78 Billion (Rs. 3,59,733.15 Crore), over the same period last year.

In this connection it is mentioned that the global Brent price ($/bbl) has increased by 39.66% in October 2018 vis-à-vis October 2017 as per data available from World Bank (Pink Sheet).

Non-oil imports in October 2018 were estimated at US $ 29.90 Billion (Rs. 2,20,144.18 Crore) which was 6.05 per cent higher in Dollar terms (19.98 percent higher in Rupee terms), compared to US $ 28.19 Billion (Rs. 1,83,478.10 Crore) in October 2017. Non-oil imports in April-October 2018-19 were US $ 218.53 Billion (Rs. 15,14,244.71 Crore) which was 7.05 per cent higher in Dollar terms (15.05 percent higher in Rupee terms), compared to US $ 204.14 Billion (Rs. 13,16,154.80 Crore) in April-October 2017-18.

Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports were US $ 28.21 billion in October 2018, recording a positive growth of 11.77 per cent, as compared to Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports in October 2017. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports were US $ 199.21 billion in April-October 2018-19, recording a positive growth of 8.14 per cent, as compared to Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports in April-October 2017-18.

II. TRADE IN SERVICES (for September, 2018, as per the RBI Press Release dated 15th November 2018)

EXPORTS (Receipts)

Exports in September 2018 were US $ 16.38 Billion (Rs. 1,18,295.88 Crore) registering a negative growth of 0.88 per cent in dollar terms, vis-à-vis August 2018. (as per RBI’s Press Release for the respective months).

IMPORTS (Payments)

Imports in September 2018 were US $ 9.95 Billion (Rs. 71,825.34 Crore) registering a negative growth of 3.94 per cent in dollar terms, vis-à-vis August 2018.  (as per RBI’s Press Release for the respective months).

III.TRADE BALANCE

MERCHANDISE: The trade deficit for October 2018 was estimated at US $ 17.13 Billion as against the deficit of US $ 14.61 Billion in October 2017.

SERVICES: As per RBI’s Press Release dated 15th November 2018, the trade balance in Services (i.e. Net Services export) for September, 2018 is estimated at US $ 6.44 Billion.

OVERALL TRADE BALANCE: Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade deficit for April-October 2018-19* is estimated at US $ 66.57 Billion as compared to US $ 52.23 Billion in April-October 2017-18.

*Note: Services data pertains to April-September 2018-19 as September 2018 is the latest data available as per RBI’s Press Release dated 15th November 2018. It is arrived at by adding Month-wise QE data of RBI’s press release for April to September 2018-19. This data is provisional and subject to revision by RBI. In addition, it may be noted that data for October 2018 is estimated and added to the April-September 2018-19 data of RBI to calculate the Overall Trade Deficit for April-October 2018-19. It will be revised based on RBI’s next press release for October 2018.

MERCHANDISE TRADE 

EXPORTS & IMPORTS: (US $ Billion)
(PROVISIONAL)
	OCTOBER	APRIL- OCTOBER
EXPORTS (including re-exports)
2017-18	22.89	168.64
2018-19	26.98	191.01
%Growth 2018-19/ 2017-18	17.86	13.27
IMPORTS
2017-18	37.50	259.92
2018-19	44.11	302.47
%Growth 2018-19/ 2017-18	17.62	16.37
TRADE BALANCE
2017-18	-14.61	-91.28
2018-19	-17.13	-111.46
EXPORTS & IMPORTS: (Rs. Crore)
(PROVISIONAL)
	OCTOBER	APRIL- OCTOBER
EXPORTS(including re-exports)
2017-18	1,48,962.64	10,87,270.47
2018-19	1,98,634.84	13,23,940.28
%Growth 2018-19/ 2017-18	33.35	21.77
IMPORTS
2017-18	2,44,064.20	16,75,887.95
2018-19	3,24,774.78	20,97,058.41
%Growth 2018-19/ 2017-18	33.07	25.13
TRADE BALANCE
2017-18	-95,101.56	-5,88,617.48
2018-19	-1,26,139.94	-7,73,118.13

SERVICES TRADE

EXPORTS & IMPORTS (SERVICES) : (US $ Billion)
(Provisional)	SEPTEMBER 2018	APRIL- SEPTEMBER 2018-19
EXPORTS (Receipts)	16.38	101.07
IMPORTS (Payments)	9.95	62.57
TRADE BALANCE	6.44	38.50
EXPORTS & IMPORTS (SERVICES): (Rs. Crore)
(Provisional)	SEPTEMBER 2018	APRIL-SEPTEMBER 2018-19
EXPORTS (Receipts)	1,18,295.88	6,92,694.98
IMPORTS (Payments)	71,825.34	4,28,772.48
TRADE BALANCE	46,470.55	2,63,922.50

 Note: Services data pertains to April-September 2018-19 as September 2018 is the latest data available as per RBI’s Press Release dated 15^th November 2018. April-September 2017-18 data is arrived at by adding Month-wise QE data. This has been used along with the estimate of service exports and imports for October 2018, as explained in page-1 for the purpose of this Press note. 

QUICK ESTIMATES FOR SELECTED MAJOR COMMODITIES FOR OCTOBER 2018

 TRADE: EXPORT

Sl. No.	Commodities	(Values in Rs. crores)		% change
		OCT'17	OCT'18	OCT'18
1	Tea	463.71	573.48	23.67
2	Coffee	397.79	366.71	-7.81
3	Rice	3497.64	3324.93	-4.94
4	Other cereals	153.90	171.16	11.21
5	Tobacco	517.81	521.19	0.65
6	Spices	1458.08	1937.09	32.85
7	Cashew	531.23	353.67	-33.42
8	Oil Meals	426.31	583.62	36.90
9	Oil seeds	558.56	616.29	10.34
10	Fruits & Vegetables	1123.78	1668.77	48.50
11	Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items	689.26	982.85	42.60
12	Marine Products	4781.41	5076.23	6.17
13	Meat, dairy & poultry products	3038.96	2668.51	-12.19
14	Iron Ore	749.89	961.31	28.19
15	Mica, Coal & Other Ores, Minerals including processed minerals	1597.25	2310.44	44.65
16	Leather & leather products	2403.78	3033.97	26.22
17	Ceramic products & glassware	979.37	1668.95	70.41
18	Gems & Jewellery	21539.59	25704.15	19.33
19	Drugs & Pharmaceuticals	8735.24	11151.23	27.66
20	Organic & Inorganic Chemicals	8995.36	13638.60	51.62
21	Engineering Goods	38103.67	46935.32	23.18
22	Electronic Goods	2968.44	5785.26	94.89
23	Cotton Yarn/Fabs./made-ups, Handloom Products etc.	5376.03	6704.34	24.71
24	Man-made Yarn/Fabs./made-ups etc.	2311.89	3037.27	31.38
25	RMG of all Textiles	5401.86	8327.42	54.16
26	Jute Mfg. including Floor Covering	150.65	192.19	27.58
27	Carpet	667.69	1013.21	51.75
28	Handicrafts excl. handmade carpet	870.47	1078.37	23.88
29	Petroleum Products	19807.05	33476.05	69.01
30	Plastic & Linoleum	3557.11	5306.76	49.19
	Sub Total	141853.75	189169.34	33.36
	GRAND   TOTAL	148962.64	198634.84	33.35

 Note 1: Grand total is inclusive of component ‘Other’.

Note 2: The figures for OCTOBER'18 and OCTOBER'17 are provisional and subject to change 

QUICK ESTIMATES FOR SELECTED MAJOR COMMODITIES FOR OCTOBER 2018

TRADE: EXPORT

Sl. No.	Commodities	(Values in Million USD)		% change
		OCT'17	OCT'18	OCT'18
1	Tea	71.25	77.88	9.31
2	Coffee	61.12	49.80	-18.52
3	Rice	537.43	451.56	-15.98
4	Other cereals	23.65	23.25	-1.69
5	Tobacco	79.56	70.78	-11.04
6	Spices	224.04	263.08	17.43
7	Cashew	81.63	48.03	-41.16
8	Oil Meals	65.50	79.26	21.01
9	Oil seeds	85.82	83.70	-2.47
10	Fruits & Vegetables	172.67	226.64	31.26
11	Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items	105.91	133.48	26.03
12	Marine Products	734.68	689.40	-6.16
13	Meat, dairy & poultry products	466.95	362.41	-22.39
14	Iron Ore	115.22	130.56	13.31
15	Mica, Coal & Other Ores, Minerals including processed minerals	245.42	313.78	27.85
16	Leather & leather products	369.35	412.04	11.56
17	Ceramic products & glassware	150.48	226.66	50.62
18	Gems & Jewellery	3309.64	3490.88	5.48
19	Drugs & Pharmaceuticals	1342.20	1514.45	12.83
20	Organic & Inorganic Chemicals	1382.17	1852.26	34.01
21	Engineering Goods	5854.78	6374.28	8.87
22	Electronic Goods	456.11	785.70	72.26
23	Cotton Yarn/Fabs./made-ups, Handloom Products etc.	826.05	910.52	10.23
24	Man-made Yarn/Fabs./made-ups etc.	355.23	412.49	16.12
25	RMG of all Textiles	830.02	1130.95	36.26
26	Jute Mfg. including Floor Covering	23.15	26.10	12.74
27	Carpet	102.59	137.60	34.13
28	Handicrafts excl. hand made carpet	133.75	146.45	9.50
29	Petroleum Products	3043.43	4546.38	49.38
30	Plastic & Linoleum	546.56	720.71	31.86
	Sub Total	21796.36	25691.08	17.87
	GRAND   TOTAL	22888.70	26976.59	17.86

 Note 1: Exports include Re-Exports.

Note 2: The figures for OCTOBER'18 and OCTOBER'17 are provisional and subject to change

Note 3: Grand total is inclusive of component ‘Other’. 

QUICK ESTIMATES FOR SELECTED MAJOR COMMODITIES FOR OCTOBER 2018

TRADE: IMPORT

Sl. No.	Commodities	(Values in Rs. crores)		% change
		OCT'17	OCT'18	OCT'18
1	Cotton Raw & Waste	206.39	258.30	25.15
2	Vegetable Oil	5504.91	5489.70	-0.28
3	Pulses	1548.97	827.63	-46.57
4	Fruits & vegetables	1353.13	1815.72	34.19
5	Pulp and Waste paper	713.21	842.99	18.20
6	Textile yarn Fabric, made-up articles	1002.06	1294.43	29.18
7	Fertilisers, Crude & manufactured	3823.55	3045.46	-20.35
8	Sulphur & Unroasted Iron Pyrites	45.20	72.62	60.65
9	Metalliferous ores & other minerals	5493.25	5185.99	-5.59
10	Coal, Coke & Briquettes, etc.	13136.31	16702.34	27.15
11	Petroleum, Crude & products	60586.10	104630.60	72.70
12	Wood &  Wood products	3083.35	3757.37	21.86
13	Leather & leather products	514.48	634.70	23.37
14	Organic & Inorganic Chemicals	10957.85	15699.41	43.27
15	Dyeing/tanning/colouring mtrls.	1592.89	2170.46	36.26
16	Artificial resins, plastic materials, etc.	7344.29	9981.02	35.90
17	Chemical material & products	3332.28	5081.02	52.48
18	Newsprint	428.54	742.78	73.33
19	Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones	11620.05	13456.77	15.81
20	Iron & Steel	7276.74	10883.66	49.57
21	Non-ferrous metals	6652.17	9612.07	44.50
22	Machine tools	1703.72	3033.68	78.06
23	Machinery, electrical & non-electrical	17242.93	21937.41	27.23
24	Transport equipment	12323.38	10749.90	-12.77
25	Project goods	1635.55	1119.58	-31.55
26	Professional instrument, Optical goods, etc.	2520.12	3189.10	26.55
27	Electronic goods	25861.38	38606.09	49.28
28	Medicinal. & Pharmaceutical products	3125.57	3917.02	25.32
29	Gold	19201.20	12404.52	-35.40
30	Silver	2256.47	3874.55	71.71
	Sub Total	232086.05	311016.89	34.01
	GRAND   TOTAL	244064.20	324774.78	33.07

 Note 1: Grand total is inclusive of component ‘Other’.

Note 2: The figures for OCTOBER'18 and OCTOBER'17 are provisional and subject to change

 QUICK ESTIMATES FOR SELECTED MAJOR COMMODITIES FOR OCTOBER 2018

TRADE: IMPORT

Sl. No.	Commodities	(Values in Million USD)			% change
		OCT'17	OCT'18	OCT'18
1	Cotton Raw & Waste	31.71	35.08	10.63
2	Vegetable Oil	845.85	745.56	-11.86
3	Pulses	238.01	112.40	-52.78
4	Fruits & vegetables	207.91	246.59	18.60
5	Pulp and Waste paper	109.59	114.49	4.47
6	Textile yarn Fabric, made-up articles	153.97	175.80	14.18
7	Fertilisers, Crude & manufactured	587.50	413.60	-29.60
8	Sulphur & Unroasted Iron Pyrites	6.95	9.86	41.87
9	Metalliferous ores & other minerals	844.06	704.31	-16.56
10	Coal, Coke & Briquettes, etc.	2018.45	2268.34	12.38
11	Petroleum, Crude & products	9309.30	14209.88	52.64
12	Wood &  Wood products	473.77	510.29	7.71
13	Leather & leather products	79.05	86.20	9.04
14	Organic & Inorganic Chemicals	1683.72	2132.14	26.63
15	Dyeing/tanning/colouring mtrls.	244.75	294.77	20.44
16	Artificial resins, plastic materials, etc.	1128.48	1355.52	20.12
17	Chemical material & products	512.02	690.05	34.77
18	Newsprint	65.85	100.88	53.20
19	Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones	1785.47	1827.56	2.36
20	Iron & Steel	1118.10	1478.11	32.20
21	Non-ferrous metals	1022.13	1305.41	27.71
22	Machine tools	261.78	412.00	57.38
23	Machinery, electrical & non-electrical	2649.44	2979.32	12.45
24	Transport equipment	1893.54	1459.94	-22.90
25	Project goods	251.31	152.05	-39.50
26	Professional instrument, Optical goods, etc.	387.23	433.11	11.85
27	Electronic goods	3973.70	5243.09	31.94
28	Medicinal. & Pharmaceutical products	480.26	531.97	10.77
29	Gold	2950.34	1684.66	-42.90
30	Silver	346.72	526.20	51.77
	Sub Total	35660.96	42239.18	18.45
	GRAND   TOTAL	37501.43	44107.65	17.62

 Note 1: Imports include Re-Imports.

Note 2: The figures for OCTOBER'18 and OCTOBER'17 are provisional and subject to change.

Note 3: Grand total is inclusive of component ‘Other’.

Trade deficit widens as exports and imports grow, driven by higher oil imports and provisional services estimates. India's October 2018 and April-October 2018-19 trade data show exports and imports both grew year on year, with imports-notably oil imports-rising more sharply, producing a wider overall trade deficit. Services data for April-September 2018 are provisional RBI figures with October services estimated and subject to revision. Commodity level quick estimates for October 2018 indicate mixed sectoral performance with significant increases in petroleum products, electronic goods, chemicals, plastics and engineering goods, and declines in selected agricultural and precious metal items.