Question

Directions for questions 86 to 90: Study the tables of the Indian foreign trade given below to answer the questions.

Principal Commodities\' Import - Weight (%)
COMMODITIES	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Bulk imports	37.87	39.09	42.56
Pearls, precious & semi-precious stones	9.25	8.80	6.42
Machinery	10.63	10.00	10.94
Project Goods	0.49	0.54	0.57
Others	41.76	41.57	39.51
TOTAL IMPORTS	100.00	100.00	100.00
Total Imports (in Crore of Rupees)	359107.66	501064.54	630526.77

Principal Commodities\' Export - Weight (%)
COMMODITIES	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Plantations	0.92	0.78	0.71
Agri & allied products	8.39	7.61	7.21
Marine products	2.08	1.60	1.40
Ores & minerals	3.69	5.29	6.02
Leather & mfrs.	3.19	2.89	2.56
Gems & jewellery	16.56	17.29	15.13
Sports goods	0.15	0.12	0.13
Chemicals & related products	15.43	16.00	15.10
Engineering goods	16.41	18.41	18.66
Electronic goods	2.74	2.28	2.18
Project goods	0.09	0.06	0.13
Textiles	18.86	15.16	14.80
Handicrafts	0.70	0.43	0.40
Carpets	0.90	0.75	0.81
Cotton raw incl. waste	0.28	0.10	0.61
Petroleum products	5.54	8.57	11.21
Unclassified exports	4.07	2.66	2.94
GRAND TOTAL	100.00	100.00	100.00
Total Exports in Rupees Crore	293366.75	375339.53	454799.97
US Dollar Exchange Rate	45.9513	44.9315	44.2735

The three commodities which had highest export growth rate in the year 2004-05 as compared to the previous year, arranged in descending order of growth rates are:

• A. petroleum products, ores and minerals, engineering goods
• B. ores and minerals, gems and jewellery, chemicals and related products
• C. gems and jewellery, chemicals and related products, agri and allied products
• D. ores and minerals, chemicals and related products, agri and allied products

Hint:

The export table gives each commodity's weight (%) of total exports, not its rupee value. Multiply the weight by that year's Total Exports figure to get the actual export value before comparing growth rates.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Question.
The export table gives each commodity as a percentage weight of total exports for each year, not its rupee value. Since the Total Exports figure itself grew from Rs. 293366.75 crore in 2003-04 to Rs. 375339.53 crore in 2004-05, we must convert each commodity's weight percentage into an actual rupee value before we can compare growth rates fairly.

Step 2: Key Formula.
For a commodity with weight \(w\), its export value in a year is:
\[ \text{Value} = \frac{w}{100} \times \text{Total Exports for that year} \]
The growth rate from 2003-04 to 2004-05 is:
\[ \text{Growth} = \frac{\text{Value}_{04\text{-}05}}{\text{Value}_{03\text{-}04}} - 1 \]

Step 3: Compute for the candidate commodities.
Petroleum products: value goes from \(5.54\% \times 293366.75 = 16252.5\) to \(8.57\% \times 375339.53 = 32166.6\), a growth of about 97.9%.
Ores and minerals: value goes from \(3.69\% \times 293366.75 = 10825.2\) to \(5.29\% \times 375339.53 = 19855.5\), a growth of about 83.4%.
Engineering goods: value goes from \(16.41\% \times 293366.75 = 48147.3\) to \(18.41\% \times 375339.53 = 69100.0\), a growth of about 43.5%.
Gems and jewellery: value goes from \(16.56\% \times 293366.75 = 48582.9\) to \(17.29\% \times 375339.53 = 64896.2\), a growth of about 33.6%.
Chemicals and related products: value goes from \(15.43\% \times 293366.75 = 45260.5\) to \(16.00\% \times 375339.53 = 60054.3\), a growth of about 32.7%.
Agri and allied products: value goes from \(8.39\% \times 293366.75 = 24619.5\) to \(7.61\% \times 375339.53 = 28563.3\), a growth of about 16.0%.

Step 4: Rank and eliminate.
Ranking these growth rates in descending order: petroleum products (about 97.9%), ores and minerals (about 83.4%), engineering goods (about 43.5%), gems and jewellery (about 33.6%), chemicals and related products (about 32.7%), agri and allied products (about 16.0%). The top three, in order, are petroleum products, ores and minerals and engineering goods, which is exactly option 1. Options 2, 3 and 4 mix in commodities like gems and jewellery, chemicals or agri products that actually grew more slowly than petroleum products and engineering goods.

Final Answer:
The correct descending order is petroleum products, ores and minerals, engineering goods.
\[ \boxed{\text{petroleum products, ores and minerals, engineering goods}} \]