Showing signs of significant improvement, the country’s exports in July have reached almost the level of the corresponding month last year, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He said several indicators are reflecting that the economic activities are reviving in the country. “Our exports have almost reached last year’s July level, with nearly 90 per cent of our export of July 2019 having come back. And, in fact if we were to remove the oil related exports, where we are largely a small value adder… we are 95 per cent plus on the revival of our exports,” he said. The minister added that the country “today is in a mood” to not only bring back economic activity but also become self-reliant, improve the quality and competitive pricing of products. Officially the export numbers for the month of July would be released by the commerce ministry during mid-August. India’s exports fell for the fourth straight month in June as shipments of key segments like petroleum and textiles declined but the country’s trade turned surplus for the first time in 18 years as imports dropped by a steeper 47.59 per cent. Exports in value terms declined by 12.41 per cent to USD 21.91 billion in June on weak global demand due to COVID-19. After falling for a record 60.28 per cent in April, the rate of contraction of the country’s total merchandise shipments slowed down to 36.7 per cent in May and 12.441 per cent in June.
