Jul. 20 – Exports in India increased over 30 percent year-on-year for the fifth straight month with a 30.4 percent jump to US$17.75 billion this June, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said during a press conference on Monday.

Although the staggering numbers are set against a dismal base year when exports contracted 5 percent due to the economic recession, the high growth rate indicates that export levels are returning to pre-crisis levels. India’s April-June quarter saw exports rise 32.25 percent to US$50.8 billion while imports grew 24 percent to US$83 billion over the same period.

“The (export) growth recorded for the first quarter indicates that some turnaround in global demand is underway,” Khullar told the press.

In particular, India’s chemical, engineering, iron ore, jewelry, and pharmaceutical sectors saw impressive growth rates over the last three months. Khullar warned, though, that “while the steady increase in exports in these sectors seems to be signaling that some turnaround is underway, it could just be a blip.”

New Delhi has set an export target of US$200 billion for the fiscal year, and the country is right on pace.