The Commerce Ministry has roped in other key Ministries and Departments such as Agriculture, Textiles, Electronics & IT, Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Food Processing, Petroleum and Animal Husbandry and Dairying to help it draw up and implement a strategy for boosting exports from various sectors.

In the first Inter-Ministerial meeting on ‘Sectoral Export Promotion Strategy’, held on Tuesday, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu asked all the attending officials to prepare an action plan on boosting exports of products handled by their respective Ministries and send it to the Department of Commerce within the next fortnight.

“The Department of Commerce will take assistance from the Ministry of External Affairs to implement the action plans through our commercial missions abroad,” according to an official release.

Prabhu pointed out that the Union Cabinet had approved ₹5,000 crore to promote export of services in champion sectors and the Department of Commerce (DoC) is organising the next Global Exhibition on export of Services at Mumbai on May 15, 2018.

Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said that while there has been a 10 per cent growth in merchandise exports in the current year, India’s share in global trade is static at 1.7 per cent in merchandise exports and 3.4 per cent in services exports.

“We need to look at new markets. While we have done well in US and Europe there has not been adequate focus on emerging markets in Asia. We need to focus more on exports to China, Latin America and Africa,” she said.

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