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India’s exports are on track to touch a record high of $325 billion in 2018-19 despite a slowdown in growth in the third quarter, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said.
“For the last three years, our exports have been growing and I have been saying that our exports are on track for reaching a record level this year. We are going to surpass the old level of $314 billion of exports in 2013-14. We are on the way of achieving a record performance. Right now we are 10 per cent up. I am sure we are going to maintain that,” Wadhawan told reporters after a meeting with exporters on Tuesday.
The Commerce Department had organised a meeting with export promotion councils and other key exporters to discuss various issues being faced by them and examine ways by which merchandise exports may reach $325 billion by March.
India recorded a growth of 9.7 per cent in goods exports to $303 billion in 2017-18 over the same period last year.
Overall exports
While overall exports in the first three quarters posted a growth of 10 per cent, there has been a slowdown in exports in the third quarter. This is a major concern for exporters as the dip has taken place in labour-intensive sectors such as leather, man-made textiles, gems & jewellery and engineering products.
Wadhawan said the downturn was due to slowdown in global demand and a fall in global prices. “For many products, the volumes of exports may have gone up but the value has dipped due to lower prices,” he said.
Promotion strategy
The Commerce Department is already implementing a detailed export promotion strategy in consultation with stakeholders, including the Export Promotion Councils, exporters and financial institutions.
“We have an ongoing export strategy where all issues are documented and pursued on a regular basis in consultation with the exporters. Mostly these were the issues that were reiterated (at the meeting). Many issues have already been resolved such as extending interest subvention to merchant exporters,” the Commerce Secretary said.
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