Saraf wants robust FTAs
The Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) President Sharad Kumar Saraf sees 2021-22 exports at US$350 billion, citing “extremely good order booking position” for food including processed food, pharma, medical and diagnostic products, technical textiles, chemical, plastics, electronics and networking products.
He also reiterated a call for robust FTAs with some of India’s major partners the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union on a priority basis for attracting export-led FDI and exports.
“We may end the financial year 2020-21 with exports of around US$290 billion,” he added, pointing out the “pretty bad” export performances in the first two quarters.
Sharad is confident of a V-shaped recovery in world trade, expecting the Indian exports to recover much more from what was lost in 2020.
He listed the World Trade Organization (WTO) expectation of a 7.2% rise in the world merchandise trade in 2021-22, a strong recovery from a 9.2% decline in volume in the current fiscal year.
Further, the WTO in an optimistic scenario also said that the global merchandise trade could fall 13% in 2020 with a 21% rebound in 2021. This, he said, adds to the enthusiasm among the exporting community.
Stating the exporters’ wishes, FIEO President said, “Fortunately for us, the decline in exports in the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2020 has been largely addressed with even a few months of positive exports.
“Our exports strategy should be two-pronged: one focusing on sectors where major imports are happening and others to boost traditional sectors, which are important for exports as well as employment,” he stressed.
Today, the major contributor to global trade consists of Electronics & Electricals, Machinery, Automobile, Pharma and Medical equipment, accounting for about 40% of Global Imports, in which our current share is less than 0.9%,” he said on 30 Dec 2020.
“It is very satisfying that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is rightly focusing on these sectors.
“Once we create production capabilities in these products, pushing exports at a brisk pace should not be a challenge.” #exports #shipments #manufacturing #investment #merchanidize #food /fiinews.com
