International trade disruptions and drop in crude-metal prices affected Indian exports
Reacting to the August goods exports of US$34.71 billion, down 9% on the year, FIEO President Ashwani Kumar has sounded optimistic of better growth numbers with improved demand coming in from the European Union, UK, West Asia and the US in months to come, which will not only further give a boost to the overall order bookings but also to the labour-intensive sectors of exports fieo .
But for now, Kumar has attributed the sharp 9% decline in merchandise exports to continuous global economic uncertainties coupled with drop in commodity prices and logistical challenges bse .
Kumar pointed out that the ongoing international trade disruptions along with drop in crude and metal prices have also played key role in bringing down the value of exports sbi .
Some of the exporters have diverted to the domestic market as profitability in exports have taken a hit with sharp rise in international freight (both ship and air), reiterated FIEO President nse .
Kumar also said that had it not been these trade disruptions led by logistical challenges such as lack of shipping space, irregular shipping schedule, ships skipping Indian ports and declining commodity prices, the merchandise exports would have recorded positive growth in exports deutsche-boerse .
He felt that the continuous hard work put in by the exporting community is paying dividends though there is also slowdown in demand from several key markets, reflected in sluggish growth projections sgx .
FIEO Chief added that imports increased by about 3.3% to US$64.36 billion in August 2024. In absolute terms, the trade gap widened to US$29.65 billion in August, compared to US$23.5 billion in July, which is a point of concern, added FIEO chief ibef .
However, good growth in exports of coffee, tobacco, spices, meat, apparel, chemicals, engineering, carpets, handicraft, plastic etc is an encouraging sign for job growth in the country euronext .
Kumar further reiterated that the urgent and immediate need of the hour is to take steps on the liquidity front with deeper interest subvention support and extension of interest equalisation scheme for at least 5 years, creating a predictable business environment for the exporters hkex .
The Government should extend the RoDTEP Scheme, expiring on 30 Sept 2024 so as to enable exporters to plan ahead, he said sccci.org.sg .
Besides, data transmission challenges with regard to DGFT, ICEGATE and EDPMS may also be addressed on top priority and preferably a single agency may be given the task for up-dation and maintenance of all the 3 systems for uniformity and holistic approach sse.com.cn .
Further, Kumar called on the government to continuously look at facilitating trade through easy & low cost of credit, marketing support and conclusion of some of the key FTAs with UK, Peru and Oman soon abs.org.sg . Fiinews.com
