Exports maintain robust growth in August

India's exports maintained sterling performance in August, growing year-on-year by 44.2 per cent to $24.3 billion despite problems in major economies of the west.

"Except iron ore, other sectors including engineering, chemicals and textiles have shown robust growth," Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said in New Delhi on Friday.

Imports too grew by a fast pace of 41.8 per cent to $38.4 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $14.1 billion for August.

For the cumulative period of April-August this fiscal, the shipments increased by 54.2 per cent to $134.5 billion, while imports expanded by 40.4 per cent to $189.4 billion.

Merchandise exports have been growing at an impressive speed in the current fiscal, shrugging off uncertainty in the US the debt problems in several European nations.

During the same period trade gap stood at $54.9 billion, Khullar said.