Exports in Oct-March likely at $88 bn: PMEAC

The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council forecast on Friday 12 per cent growth at $88 billion in India's exports in the second half of the current fiscal.

". . .merchandise exports are likely to be around $88 billion in the second half of 2009-10, which will be 12 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year," the PMEAC said in the Review of the Economy 2009-10.

The exports were valued at $81 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal, while they were estimated at $78.5 billion during October-March 2008-09.

After a 13-month contraction following a slowdown in demand in the western markets, India's exports started recovering from November.

The exports grew 18.2 per cent in November and 9.3 per cent in December.

The expansion was 11.5 per cent in January. Analysts said the rising trend in the past three months mirrors that the outward shipments have come out of the woods.

"The figures of the past 3 months are reflecting that exports are moving out of the red," Rakesh Mohan Joshi, a trade expert with the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, said.

The International Monetary Fund recently said the global economy was poised to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2010.