Falling for the fifth straight month, the country's exports contracted 10.8 per cent, year-on-year, to 23.7 billion dollars in September, on the back of the slowdown in the western economies. But imports grew by 5 per cent, to 41.8 billion dollars, resulting in a trade deficit of 18 billion dollars for the month.In the April to September 2012 period, exports dipped 6.8 per cent, to about 144 billion dollars. Imports during this six-month period contracted 4.4 per cent, to 233 billion dollars, and the trade deficit stood at 89 billion dollars.Oil imports during September increased 30.7 per cent, to 14 billion dollars. Oil imports between April and September 2012 grew 6.8 per cent, to about 81 billion dollars. Non-oil imports during September dipped 4.5 per cent, while during the first six months of the fiscal they contracted 9.4 per cent.