Maintaining the growth momentum of the previous fiscal, the country's exports rose 34.4 per cent, to 23.8 billion dollars in April this year, compared to the same month last year. Imports rose 14.1 per cent, to 32.8 billion dollars in April, leaving a trade gap of 8.9 billion dollars, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry today. Exports had grown by 54 per cent in March. Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said that though the growth in April was lower than in March, this was not a big concern, as March is always a peak month. Crude oil imports grew by 7.7 per cent, to cross 10 billion dollars in April. Non-oil imports rose 17.3 per cent, to 22.6 billion dollars during the month. The country's total merchandise exports had grown by an impressive 37.6 per cent in the last fiscal.