New Delhi: According to figures issued by the commerce ministry on Wednesday, the country's exports for the first time surpassed USD400 billion in a fiscal year, owing to strong performance by industries such as petroleum products, engineering, gems and jewellery, and chemicals.

Merchandise exports increased by 37 percent to USD400.8 billion in 2021-22 until March 21, compared to USD292 billion in 2020-21. Outbound shipments had previously reached a high of USD330.07 billion in 2018-19. Imports were USD589 billion throughout this time, resulting in a USD189 billion trade imbalance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the country's achievement of its commodities export objective, calling it a "important milestone" in India's "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" journey. Nine days before the March 31 deadline, the highest-ever goods export target was met.

"India set a lofty goal of USD400 billion in goods exports, which it surpasses for the first time in history. For this success, I salute our farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, and exporters. This is a significant turning point in the Aatmanirbhar Bharat trip. LocalGoesGlobal is a trend that has taken off in recent years "Modi sent out a tweet.

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