India's international trade performance has seen another decline in February 2016, continuing a trend that has persisted for more than a year.

The country's exports for the month were valued at $20.73 billion (£14.42 billion), representing a 15th consecutive monthly drop. A reduction of 5.6 per cent was seen compared to the previous year.

It means that in the first 11 months of the current financial year, India's exports amount to $238.4 billion, down considerably from the $286.3 billion running total from the same point last year.

Meanwhile, imports fell 5.03 per cent to $27.28 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $7.63 billion. Although this was the smallest deficit seen since February 2015, the continued fall in exports is causing concern, as each fall is coming from an increasingly low base.

The Indian commerce ministry said: "The trend of falling exports is in tandem with other major world economies."