The week that was: When exports fell and inflation cooled

Bloomberg
Bloomberg

Summary

  • Merchandise exports declined to a three-year low as weakening global demand and declining commodity prices continued to weigh on trade

 

Every Friday, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-based insights, complete with easy-to-read charts, to help you delve deeper into the stories reported by Mint in the week gone by. India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation entered the negative territory in April, a first since July 2020. Merchandise exports declined to a three-year low as weakening global demand and declining commodity prices continued to weigh on trade.

Exports Drop

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India's merchandise goods exports declined to a six-month low of $39.7 billion in April, a 13% dip from the year-ago period, data released by the ministry of commerce showed. This is the steepest fall in exports since May 2020, when goods exports had plunged by 35.5%. Merchandise imports also fell by 14% to $49.9 billion during the month, from $58.1 billion a year earlier. Consequently, the trade deficit narrowed to $15.2 billion from $18.4 billion in April last year.

Fertilizer Sops

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The union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a ₹1.08 trillion subsidy for the ongoing kharif season (April-September). Of this total subsidy, ₹38,000 crore has been approved for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizer and ₹70,000 crore for urea. With this sop, the Centre’s fertilizer subsidy bill for FY24 will overshoot by ₹50,000 crore to ₹2.25 trillion. Chemical and fertilizers minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the subsidy is likely to benefit about 120 million farmers.

Capex Plans

$1.5 billion: That's the amount Adani Enterprises plans to invest to kickstart its new businesses, Mint reported. The revision in capex plans came after a four-month hiatus as the firm plans fresh investments for solar module manufacturing, green hydrogen, Navi Mumbai Airport and Adani ConneX. Both Adani Enterprises and Adani Transmission have cleared plans to raise up to ₹12,500 crore and ₹8,500 crore, respectively, via qualified institutional placement (QIP).

Easing Prices

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In a first since July 2020, India’s wholesale inflation entered negative territory in April 2023, data released by the ministry of statistics and planning implementation (MoSPI) showed. At (-)0.92%, the WPI-based inflation slipped for the 11th month straight. A Mint analysis of data showed deflation to be the sharpest in manufactured goods. Food inflation eased to 0.17% in April, while fuel and power inflation slowed to 0.93%. Meanwhile, retail inflation eased to an 18-month low of 4.7% in April.

Crude Share

With 50.84 million tonnes of crude oil supplies, Russia was the largest exporter of oil to India in FY23, data available with the ministry of commerce showed. Riding on the back of discounted oil, Russia steadily climbed to the top of the table as a major oil supplier to India. A year ago, Russia’s oil accounted for only 2% of India’s total oil imports. In FY23, it made up a quarter. Iraq was India’s second biggest supplier, followed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the US.

 

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Woes Continue

$500 crore: This is the provision state-owned Bank of Baroda created against potential losses from its exposure to Go Airlines, which runs Go First. Speaking to Mint, bank CEO Sanjiv Chadha said BoB had extended loans of about ₹1,300 crore to Go Air. On 10 May, the principal bench of National Company Law Tribunal admitted the airline’s insolvency petition. A rise in the number of engine failure episodes forced the airline to ground 25 aircraft as of 1 May.

Parking Troubles

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India's cities are struggling to make space for cars. An analysis by Mint showed Delhi would need more than 4,000 football fields, or land worth nearly ₹10 trillion, to park all its cars. However, car ownership is uneven across the country— less than 8% households own one. Data from National Family Health Survey (2019-2021) showed Goa had the highest percentage of car owners (45.2%), followed by Kerala and Uttarakhand. Bihar was lowest on car ownership.

Chart of the Week: UPI Hurdles

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A recent study by new-age lender NeoGrowth showed 72% of retailers in the micro, small and medium enterprises category preferred UPI transactions and only 30% picked cash or cheque. However, internet issues and failed transactions were the top hindrance for such transactions.

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