11 products posted increase in shipments
The Indian exports is passing through a very tough and challenging times, said FIEO President Sharad Kumar Saraf, adding that global players including China was also losing its sheen in exports.
India’s December exports yet again declined marginally due to global and domestic factors; protectionism and liquidity concerns which added further to the woes of the sector, Saraf pointed out.
His comments on 15 Jan 2020 came in reaction to a marginal decline in December exports by 1.8% at US$27.36 billion, attributing the drop in shipments to global and domestic factors.
Protectionism coupled with a few other key factors including trade war, escalation of tension between Iran and the US and slowdown in economies across the globe has further added to the woes of the India’s exports sector.
The currency volatility besides fluctuation in commodities prices including that of crude have also led to the decrease in exports of petroleum, which is a major constituent of India’s exports.
Only 11 out of the 30 major product groups were in positive territory during December 2019. These included electronic goods, drugs & pharmaceuticals, iron ore, marine products, RMG of all textiles, man-made yarn/fabs/made-ups, cotton yarn/fabs/made-ups, handloom products and couple of plantation sectors. Shipments from these sectors have shown some positive or marginal growth.
However, all other major sector of exports including labour-intensive industries were still in negative territory.
Further imports of US$38.61 billion with a negative growth of 8.83% during the month has yet again come as a big respite for the economy.
Saraf said that domestic issues including uncertainty over MEIS Scheme was a major cause of concern as exporters’ claim for over 5 months are still pending, which has completely wiped out their liquidity and has kept them in doldrums with regard to finalising new contracts.
The problem of risky exporters has further compounded the liquidity problem as their GST and Drawback claims have also been held up, he pointed out.
The FIEO President reiterated that the stalemate over MEIS for apparels and made ups should be resolved immediately.
Besides, RoDTEP should be notified with immediate effect for all the products with lead time of at least 3 months now so that exporters may factor the same in finalising new orders and making their transition to the new scheme smooth while continuing with MEIS in the interim period, he stressed. fiinews.com
