SME Times News Bureau | 04 Feb, 2021
Responding
to January 2021 export figures, FIEO President Sharad Kumar Saraf said that the
monthly exports further moved northward towards positive territory with almost
all major export category products showing impressive growth with signs of
further revival.
Positive
growth of about 5.5 percent with USD 27.24 billion of exports show not only
signs of better order booking position but further improvement in coming months
and the new fiscal, reiterated FIEO President.
Effectiveness
of the Covid-19 vaccines have also led to bring both life and economy back on
growth trajectory with a V-shaped recovery projected not only in world trade
but the Indian economy as well.
The Union
Budget 2021-22 has also rightly put its focus on infrastructure to revive the
economy, address the job loss and support the industries providing inputs for
infrastructure at a time when it was most needed, added Saraf.
A world class
infrastructure will go a long way to make our manufacturing and exports
competitive besides reducing the logistics cost, said Saraf.
The FIEO President added that January exports also signals that our traditional
and labour-intensive sectors of exports (except apparels and leather) have
already passed the most challenging and testing times.
Saraf said
that the exports of other cereals along with oil meals, iron-ore, cereal
preparations and miscellaneous processed items, jute mfg. including floor covering,
tobacco, rice, fruits and vegetable, carpet, handicrafts excl. hand-made
carpet, spices, ceramic products and glassware, engineering
goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals, electronic goods, tea, cashew,
plastic and linoleum, mica, coal and other ores, minerals including process,
cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products etc., coffee and organic
and inorganic chemicals showed either a very high or impressive growth or were
in positive territory showing signs of further revival.
FIEO Chief also said that negative growth in exports of major products
including petroleum products, leather and leather manufactures, RMG of all
textiles, man-made yarn/fabrics/made-ups etc., meat, dairy and poultry
products, oil seeds, marine products and gems and jewellery which are major
constituents of India’s export basket and mainly related to labour-intensive
sector of exports have also been of key concern during the month.
However, an
increase in imports during January 2021 by just 2.05 percent to USD 41.99
billion compared to the same period during the previous fiscal led to a
trade deficit of USD 14.75 billion, which is a decline of 3.57 percent during
the month.
The FIEO President urges the government to soon notify the RoDTEP rates, which
will remove uncertainty from the minds of the trade and industry thereby
forging new contracts with the foreigner buyers.
Saraf also
reiterated that the government must address some of the key issues including
release of the required funds for RoDTEP, MEIS and clarity on SEIS benefits,
adequate availability of containers, softening of freight charges, resolving
risky exporters issues and allocation of funds for NIRVIK Scheme.
Besides long pending demand for the creation of an
Export Development Fund for marketing of Brand India products and various other
infrastructure bottlenecks with regard to customs and port clearances, will
further help in giving a boost to our exports taking it to pre-Covid growth
trajectory, he said.