INDIA’S FOREIGN TRADE DATA: DECEMBER 2020 Posted On: 15 JAN 2021 5:57PM by PIB Delhi



  • India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-December2020-21* are estimated to be USD 348.49Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-)12.65per cent over the same period last year. Overall imports in April-December 2020-21* are estimated to be USD 343.27Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 25.86per cent over the same period last year.


  • *Note: i) The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for November 2020. The data for December 2020 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release ii) the figures in bracket are growth rates vis-à-vis corresponding period of last year.


  • I. MERCHANDISE TRADE EXPORTS (including re-exports) Exports inDecember2020 were USD27.15Billion, as compared to USD27.11Billion in December 2019, exhibiting a positive growth of 0.14per cent. In Rupee terms, exports were Rs. 1,99,770.58Crore in December2020, as compared to Rs. 1,92,984.47Crore in December2019, registering a positive growth of 3.52 per cent.


  • The commodities/commodity groups which have recorded positive growth during December 2020 vis-à-vis December 2019 are Other cereals (278.23%), Oil meals (196.92%), Iron ore (69.26%), Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items (47.14%), Jute mfg. including floor covering (21.93%), Handicrafts excl. hand-made carpet (21.78%), Carpet (21.17%), Ceramic products & glassware (19.56%), Drugs & pharmaceuticals (17.47%), Spices (17.3%), Electronic goods (16.51%), Fruits & vegetables (14.88%), Organic & inorganic chemicals (10.79%), Rice (10.76%), Mica, Coal & other ores, minerals including processed minerals (10.76%), Cotton yarn/fabs./made-ups, handloom products etc. (10.35%), Meat, dairy & poultry products (6.8%), Gems & jewellery (6.75%), Tea (4.51%) and Engineering goods (0.3%).


  • The commodities/commodity groups which have recorded negative growth during December 2020 vis-à-vis December 2019 are Petroleum products (-35.35%), Oil seeds (-31.62%), Leather & leather products (-17.73%), Coffee (-16.38%), RMG of all textiles (-15.05%), Man-made yarn/fabs./made-ups etc. (-14.56%), Marine products (-14.25%), Cashew (-12.04%), Plastic & Linoleum (-7.25%) and Tobacco (-4.91%).


  • Cumulative value of exports for the period April-December 2020-21 was USD200.80Billion (Rs.14,95,705.96Crore) as against USD238.27Billion (Rs.16,77,370.97Crore) during the period April-December 2019-20, registering a negative growth of (-) 15.73per cent in Dollar terms (negative growth of (-) 10.83per cent in Rupee terms).


  • Non-petroleum and Non-Gems and Jewellery exports in December 2020 were USD22.22Billion, as compared to USD21.06Billion in December2019, registering a positive growth of 5.50per cent. Non-petroleum and Non-Gems and Jewellery exports in April-December 2020-21 were USD166.33Billion, as compared to USD178.15Billion for the corresponding period in 2019-20, which is a decrease of (-) 6.63 per cent.


  • IMPORTS Imports in December2020 were USD42.59Billion (Rs.3,13,407.53Crore), which is an increase of7.56per cent in Dollar terms and 11.18per cent in Rupee terms over imports of USD39.59Billion (Rs2,81,880.86Crore) in December2019. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-December 2020-21 was USD258.27Billion (Rs.19,22,790.49Crore), as against USD364.18Billion (Rs.25,62,539.91Crore) during the period April-December 2019-20, registering a negative growth of (-) 29.08per cent in Dollar terms and a negative growth of (-) 24.97per cent in Rupee terms.


  • Major commodity groups of import showing negative growth in December2020 over the corresponding month of last year are:


  • CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS: Oil imports inDecember2020 were USD9.58Billion (Rs. 70,516.27Crore), which was 10.61percentlower in Dollar terms (7.59percent lower in Rupee terms), compared to USD10.72Billion (Rs. 76,310.52Crore) in December2019. Oil imports inApril-December 2020-21 were USD53.69Billion (Rs.3,99,976.85 Crore) which was 44.49per cent lower in Dollar terms (41.23percent lower in Rupee terms) compared to USD96.71Billion (Rs. 6,80,620.86Crore), over the same period last year.


  • In this connection it is mentioned that the global Brent price ($/bbl) has decreased by 24.27% in December2020 vis-à-vis December2019 as per data available from World Bank.


  • Non-oil imports inDecember2020 were estimated at USD33.00Billion (Rs. 2,42,891.26Crore) which was 14.30percent higher in Dollar terms (18.15percent higher in Rupee terms), compared to USD28.88Billion (Rs. 2,05,570.34Crore) in December2019. Non-oil imports inApril-December 2020-21 were USD204.58Billion (Rs. 15,22,813.64Crore) which was 23.51per cent lower in Dollar terms (19.08percent lower in Rupee terms), compared to USD267.47Billion (Rs. 18,81,919.04Crore) in April-December2019-20.


  • Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports wereUSD28.52Billion in December2020, recording a positive growth of 7.99per cent, as compared to Non-Oil and Non-Gold importsof USD 26.41Billion in December2019. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports wereUSD187.80Billion in April-December 2020-21, recording a negative growth of (-) 23.16per cent, as compared to Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports ofUSD 244.42Billion in April-December 2019-20.


  • II. TRADE IN SERVICES EXPORTS (Receipts) As per the latest press release by RBI dated 15thJanuary 2021, exports in November2020 were USD 17.08Billion (Rs.1,26,767.42Crore) registering a negative growth of (-) 5.09per cent in Dollar terms, vis-à-vis November2019. The estimated value of services export for December2020* is USD 17.31Billion.


  • IMPORTS (Payments) As per the latest press release by RBI dated 15th January 2021, imports in November 2020 were USD 10.12Billion (Rs. 75,110.44Crore) registering a negative growth of (-) 11.79per cent in Dollar terms, vis-à-vis November2019. The estimated value of servicesimport for December2020* is USD 10.32Billion.


  • III.TRADE BALANCE MERCHANDISE: The trade deficit for December2020 was estimated at USD15.44Billion as against the deficit of USD12.49Billion inDecember2019, which is anincrease of 23.66 percent.


  • SERVICES: As per RBI’s Press Release dated 15th January 2021, the trade balance in Services (i.e. Net Services export) for November 2020 is USD6.96Billion. The estimated trade balance in December 2020* is USD 6.99Billion.


  • OVERALL TRADE BALANCE: Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade surplus for April-December 2020-21* is estimated at USD5.22Billion as compared to the deficit of USD64.09Billion in April-December 2019-20.


  • *Note: The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for November2020. The data for December2020 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release.