India's exports grew by an impressive 56.9 per cent year-on-year to 25.9 billion USD in May due to a rise in demand from Western markets like the US and Europe. According to official data released by the Commerce Ministry today, imports also surged by 54.08 per cent to 40.9 billion USD, leaving a trade deficit of 14.9 billion USD. Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said, it is the highest imports figure in the last four years.In May this year, crude oil imports grew by 18.57 per cent to 10.1 billion USD from 8.5 billion USD in the same month last year. Non-oil imports also went up by 71 per cent to 30.7 billion USD in the month under the review from 17.9 billion USD in the same period last fiscal.During April-May, exports increased by 45.28 per cent to 49.7 billion USD, while imports grew by 33.3 per cent to 73.7 billion USD. The trade deficit during the first two months of the current fiscal stood at 23.9 billion USD.During 2010-11, the country's total merchandise exports aggregated 246 billion USD, growing by an impressive 37.55 per cent.