The country's exports grew 6.7 percent, year-on-year, to 25 billion dollars in December 2011, due to demand slowdown in the western markets of the US and Europe.
But imports rose 19.8 per cent, year-on-year, to 37.7 billion dollars during the month, according to Commerce Ministry data released today. The trade deficit stood at 12.7 billion dollars in December 2011, compared to 8 billion dollars in December 2010.
However, due to better performance in the earlier months, the country's exports showed a growth of 25.8 per cent, to 217.6 billion dollars during the April to December 2011 period. During this nine month period, imports rose 30.3 per cent, to 350.9 billion dollars, leaving a trade gap of 133.2 billion.
Oil imports grew 11.2 per cent, while non-oil imports rose 23.3 per cent, in December 2011. During the April-December 2011 period, oil imports increased 40.3 per cent, while non-oil imports rose 26.5 per cent.
