Continuous fall in exports worrying: PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Exports fell by (-) 16% during FY2015-16 as compared to (-) 1.1% during FY2014-15. India’s exports stand at around US$261bn in FY2016 as compared to US$310.5bn in FY2015 and US$314bn in FY2014.

There are several global and domestic causes which have resulted in continuous fall in India’s exports during the last several months, said Dr. Mahesh Gupta, President PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Volatility in global economy due to slow recovery in developed nations viz. US and EU, slowdown in China, devaluation of currencies of various economies viz. Brazil, China, Russia, decline in global prices of key commodities are amongst the major global factors deterring  India’s exports continuously, he said

Overdependence on few export destinations, lack of adequate finance, quality infrastructure and marketing support, uncompetitive SEZs model are few of the major domestic constraints that affect India’s overall export competitiveness, said Dr. Gupta

The government should constantly make efforts to encourage Indian exporters to venture into new markets by providing them adequate incentives and by providing effective information pertaining to export opportunities in nontraditional markets.

Tomake SEZs model successful in India it is imperative to address its bottlenecks at the earliest including prescribing time limits for several administrative procedures viz. granting approvals, notifications, submission of documents;  adopting single window clearance;  reconsideration of imposition of MAT/DDT among others.

Rate of interest on loans should be reduced along with easing the conditions/procedures for obtaining finance from banks or financial institutions. This will enable the exporters to take high risk and to fetch big orders from the international buyers, said Dr. Gupta

The government should be highly focused upon enhancing and improvising export related infrastructure including sea/dry ports, railways, airways, warehouses, shipping among others.

The Government should undertake special efforts to create awareness about the export promotional schemes amongst all the categories of exporters including micro, small, medium and large.

Building an information hub for providing comprehensive information relating to trade opportunities and business environment in the different countries can be a right move to provide adequate and desired information to the exporters.

Furthermore, Embassies/High Commissions should provide specific reports on trade and commerce opportunities and domestic policy framework in their respective countries, said Dr. Gupta

Quality of products should be enhanced so that our export consignments cannot be rejected, he said

Petroleum prices in the domestic market should be reduced in line with the global crude oil prices. This would enable the country to reduce overall cost of production of products.

Production processes should be technologically upgraded so as to reduce the processing cost and overall cost of production. This would enable our country to enhance export competitiveness of our products in the international market, said Dr. Mahesh Gupta.