Create Export Development Fund to boost Exports says Federation of Indian Exporters Organisaton

The Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation has emphasized on the immediate need for a Special Exports Package from the Government to revive India's Foreign Trade since the global trade forecast still showed a gloomy picture.

FIEO's President, Sharad Kumar Saraf in a statement while welcoming the arrest in decline of Exports last month called for creation of an Export Development Fund with one per cent corpus of the total value of exports during the last fiscal year. He also demanded the revival of MEIS of two per cent across the board and a four per cent for Labor Intensive Exporters.

The issue of risky exporters should be addressed quickly

The issue of risky exporters making false claims of rebate should be addressed quickly apart from deciding RoDTEP rates. These are someof the key concerns of the exporting community that should be immediately considered to give a much needed boost to export sector and the overall economyhe said

The export figures during July have further consolidated as continuous arrest in the decline of exports have led to a lower double-digit negative growth of just 10.21 percent with  23.64 billion US Dollars as against very high negative double-digit growth during April and May this fiscal.

All this has been possible because of the start of business activities across the country and business/order enquiries from almost all major economies like US, EU, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand which has helped in bringing the exports sector to almost 90 per cent of the level in July 2019.

Though the monthly exports data depicts a lower double-digit decline in exports, but it must be seen in the context of the recovery that has exceeded our expectation as the government through constant interaction with exporters has been understanding and more importantly addressing the exporters’ problems. 

The global revival and business sentiments still have not picked up

Mr Saraf however feels that the global revival and business sentiments still have not picked up, impacting the global supply chain. He is of the view that the focus should be on Free Trade Agreements and more of multi-lateral agreements to further revive our exports and take up competition coming from smaller countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Taiwan.

He expressed satisfaction over the improvement in labour-intensive sectors of exports, which directly or indirectly impacts employment generation in the country. FIEO President reiterated that there is a need to analyse imports as well, as such a steep decline in imports may hamper the industrial recovery in coming months.