The deceleration of international trade growth in India continued in January 2016, with both import and export figures seeing double-digit declines.

Exports from the country fell for the 14th consecutive month in January to $21.07 billion (£14.75 billion), representing a year-on-year decline of 13.6 per cent. This was due to a drop in global demand and a steep fall in petroleum product and engineering goods shipments.

Meanwhile, imports fell by 11 per cent to $28.71 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $7.63 billion, down slightly from the $7.87 billion recorded in the corresponding period of last year. This deficit figure was the lowest in the past 11 months.

A statement from the country's commerce ministry noted that the trend of falling exports "is in tandem with other major world economies", pointing out that the EU, US and China have all seen their export growth curtailed in recent months.

For the 2015-16 fiscal year, India's export figure is now expected to come to around $260 billion.