NEW DELHI: Driven by shipments of petroleum, engineering and chemicals exports grew at a five-year high of 17.48 per cent to $24.5 billion in February, government data released on Wednesday showed.
Meanwhile, trade deficit widened to $8.89 billion as imports expanded. “In continuation with the revival exhibited by exports since September 2016, exports during February for the first time exhibited a double-digit positive growth,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The previous high in export growth was recorded at 36.3 per cent in September 2011. The last time there was double-digit growth was in June 2014, when the shipments rose 10.2 per cent.
“In continuation with the revival exhibited by exports since September 2016, exports during February for the first time exhibited a double-digit positive growth,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The previous high in export growth was recorded at 36.3 per cent in September 2011. The last time there was double-digit growth was in June 2014, when the shipments rose 10.2 per cent. During the April-February period of FY17, exports grew 2.52 per cent to $245.4 billion.