NEW DELHI, Oct 1, 2009 (AFP) - India's exports fell at their lowest pace in months, government data showed Thursday 1 October, signalling global trade could be picking up ahead of Christmas, officials said.

Exports slid in August by 19.4 percent from a year earlier to 14.3 billion dollars after tumbling by 28.4 percent in July, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

The rate of decline in India's exports has been easing ever since merchandise shipments slumped a hefty 33 percent last March.

"From a high of over 30 percent, the (rate of) decline has come below 20 percent and in the months to come we'll see it in single digits," said A. Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO).

Christmas sales in the United States and Europe are expected to gain momentum, creating more demand for goods from countries like India, he said.

"However at this stage, it would be premature to conclude that we are on way to recovery," he added.

Unlike China, where overseas sales have been a main growth driver over the past three decades, exports account for just 15 percent of gross domestic product in India's still relatively inward-looking economy.

Economists say this, along with its vast domestic market of nearly 1.2 billion people, has helped shield India's economy from the impact of the worst global slump since the 1930s.

But the decline in exports has caused heavy job losses in labour-intensive sectors such as garments and jewellery.

Earlier this year, India announced plans to boost trade with emerging markets in Africa and South America to offset the slide in exports to recession-hit developed nations.

India's biggest exports include textiles, handicrafts and leather goods.

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said he hopes to support exports through such steps as cheaper finance, better export-related infrastructure, tax relief and lowering of transaction costs.

The country is aiming for export growth of 15 percent over two years to achieve exports of 200 billion dollars by March 2011, up from 168 billion dollars in March 2009.

India has said two new free trade treaties it has signed -- one with South Korea and another with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN -- will open up new markets.

"Whether the nascent recovery in exports is sustainable will be critical for the region's growth outlook," said Matt Robinson, an economist at Moody's Economy.com, in a recent report.