The country's exports contracted by more than 15 percent, to 21.5 billion dollars in February this year. According to data released by the Commerce Ministry, imports fell 15.7 percent, to 28.4 billion dollars in February, leading to a lower trade deficit of 6.8 billion dollars during the month. Imports fell mainly due to the value of oil imports plunging 55 per cent. The trade deficit for the April 2014 to February 2015 period was estimated at 125.2 billion dollars, higher than the deficit of 124.8 billion dollars during the year-ago period.