After a gap of two years, exports contracted about 16.65 per cent to $29.78 billion in October because of a slowdown in global demand, while trade deficit widened to $26.91 billion.

“The global headwinds are impacting consumption worldwide and that would have an impact on India’s exports as well,” commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters.

Imports during the month rose about 6 per cent to $56.7 billion on account of an increase in the inbound shipments of crude oil and certain raw materials such as cotton, fertiliser and machinery.

Key export sectors, including gems and jewellery, engineering, petroleum products, ready-made garments of all textiles, chemicals, pharma, marine products and leather, recorded negative growth.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has projected global trade will rise 3.5 per cent in 2022 but only one percent in 2023.

Aditi Nayar, Icra chief economist, said: “Both the merchandise exports and imports moderated on a sequential basis between September 2022 and October 2022, whichwe believe was driven by a larger number of holidays related to the festive season. As a result, the trade deficit widened in month-on-month terms during this period, but not alarmingly so, in spite of the large year-on-year contraction in the merchandise exports figure.”