India's imports from China rose by more than 7 per cent in October despite a campaign to boycott Chinese goods, while exports to China fell by 11 per cent, widening the trade deficit to a record $48 billion.

Overall trade fell 3.7 per cent largely on account of a steep decline in India's exports to China, largely comprising commodities, by as much as 11.5 per cent, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said in Beijing.

India's imports from China rose by 7.2 per cent in Yuan terms in October according to GAC data, despite a campaign to boycott Chinese goods, underlining the small contribution of low-end cheap goods to the basket of overall imports.

India continues to import large amounts of machinery and power and telecom equipment from China, which makes up a large chunk of imports, even if boycott campaigns have tended to focus on the low-end "Made in China" goods that are pervasive in markets.

Bilateral trade after 10 months this year reached 379 billion Yuan or $57.82 billion, of which India's exports to China only accounted for 60 billion or $9 billion, according to new data released on Tuesday by China's General Administration of Customs.

Tuesday's figures suggest trade this year is likely to fall from 2015, when two-way trade reached $71.63 billion. India's trade deficit in 2015 reached a record $45 billion.

While overall trade is down, the trade deficit has already surpassed last year's figure. After 10 months of this year, the deficit stood at $48.56 billion out of two-way trade of around $58 billion.

While Chinese exports to India rose, China's overall exports, the customs administration said, fell by 3.2 per cent in October in Yuan terms, while imports rose by 3.2 per cent. Trade with the EU, China's biggest trade partner, was up 2.3 per cent, while that with its second largest partner, the U.S., was down by 3.2 per cent.

Exports of machinery and electronics were down in October, while imports of ores and crude oil had risen, the customs administration said.

Sources :indiatoday.intoday.in