INDIA’S merchandise exports fell for the 13th successive month in December, as orders from the United States and Europe shrank and exporters grappled with a competitively weaker Chinese yuan.

    The deteriorating global economic growth outlook and rising volatility in currency markets have dampened Indian exports, although the blow has been softened by a collapse in the country’s oil import bill.

    “We are facing terrible times as orders from the United States and Europe have dried up,” said S.C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, referring to shipments to India’s two largest markets.

    “The slowdown in China and depreciation of its currency have further hit exports,” he said, adding that total merchandise exports could fall to about US$250 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31.

    Exports in December fell 14.75 percent from a year earlier to US$22.3 billion while imports stood at 33.96 billion, data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed yesterday.

    India’s merchandise exports declined 3.5 percent in 2015 to US$310 billion from a year ago while imports were down 0.5 percent to US$448 billion.

    Cheaper Chinese exports have undercut exports of Indian engineering goods, which constitute around a quarter of total merchandise exports.

    Engineering exports could fall to near US$60 billion in the current fiscal year from US$72 billion a year earlier, said T.S. Bhasin, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council. (SD-Agencies)