India's merchandise exports clocked a robust 9.1 per cent growth in May to touch the $38.13 billion mark on the back of increased shipments of electronic and engineering goods, figures released by the Commerce Ministry on Friday showed.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said: "Things are looking optimistic for the trade sector with the rise in exports in May driven by growth in outbound shipments of pharmaceutical products, engineering goods, among others."

"Exports of goods were helped by increased shipments to the US. Inflation has eased in developed economies, potentially leading to better demand, and a rise in imports from India," Bharthwal added.

However, imports went up by 14.45 per cent to $61.91 billion during the month which led to a widening of the country's merchandise trade deficit to $23.78 billion in May 2024 against $19.1 billion in April.

Electronic goods exports shot up by as much as 22.97 per cent, underlining the change in India's export goods basket contributed by the growth in the manufacturing sector.

Similarly, petroleum products (15.75 per cent year-on-year) and engineering goods (7.39 per cent) exports also registered high rates of growth.