Business Across Borders 2022

12 Introduction The global economy is gradually coming out of the woods with the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic, majorly due to the large-scale vaccination programs implemented across the world. However, the growth trajectory is uneven and still below the pre-pandemic levels. With recuperating global economy, global trade also witnessed a turnaround. Taking cues from the global economic recovery, Indian economy also showed signs of revival. India’s foreign trade also increased in FY22 as compared to the previous fiscal buoyed by the resurgence in the global demand and a slew of policy measures taken by the government including production-linked incentive scheme, advance authorization scheme, remission of duties and taxes on exported products, amongst many others. Nonetheless, some challenges like shortage of containers and high freight charges continued to mar the export performance. Global Trade Scenario The abatement in COVID-19 cases along with reviving demand due to economic stimulus packages led the recovery in global economy. This further provided impetus to the global trade in 2021. As per the World Bank, global trade volume grew by almost 9.5% in 2021 as against a decline of 8.2% in 2020. Global trade recovers in tandem with revival in global economic growth 2.6 1.1 - 3.4 - 8.2 5.5 9.5 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 Real GDP Global Trade Volume % y - o -y 2019 2020 2021 Data for 2021 are estimates Source: World Bank, Dun & Bradstreet Research Indian Trade Scenario According to the IMF, in emerging market developing economies and the South Asian economic landscape, India is comparatively at a bright spot. India’s exports in goods and services grew by almost 36% y-o-y to US$ 601.77 bn during Apr-Feb FY22, while imports of goods and services recorded a growth of 52% y-o-y to US$ 683 bn during Apr-Feb FY22, leading to a trade deficit of US$ 81.24 bn during Apr-Feb FY22 as compared to US$ 8.95 bn during Apr-Feb FY21. In FY21, Overview – Business Across Borders Dun & Bradstreet