Agrawal sees increase demand for Indian goods globally
FIEO President Ashwani Kumar said the overall export of US$776.68 billion in FY 2023-24, surpassing FY2022-23’s US$776.40 billion, shows not only the firm resolve of India’s resilient, gritty and vibrant exports sector of the economy but also of the overall exporting community https://www.sgx.com/ .
But he was concerned about the recent tensions in West Asia especially the threat for consignments routing through the Red Sea has further added to woes of the exporting community, as the freight rates along with the insurance cost have gone up unimaginably high, with the burden of various surcharge.
Kumar also raised concern that much will depend on the new contracts to be signed with buyers during the new fiscal as the exporters have been absorbing the burden of increased freight cost as per the old agreement.
The FIEO https://fieo.org/ President reiterated that the need of the hour is to address the Middle East geopolitical situation, Red Sea crisis challenges by ensuring availability of marine insurance and rationale increase in freight charges.
The sector also needs easy & low cost of credit, marketing support, besides conclusion of some of the key FTAs with UK https://www.londonstockexchange.com/ , Peru and Oman soon.
Kumar noted that major growth drivers of merchandise exports during the FY 2023-24 were Electronic Goods, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Engineering Goods, Iron Ore https://sifw.sg/ , Cotton Yarn, Fabs, Made-ups, Handloom Products etc. and Ceramic Products & Glassware, which itself is a good sign as most of these sectors are labour-intensive sectors giving boost to employment creation in the country.
Export of goods was the highest during any month of FY 2023-24 in March 2024 touching US$41.68 billion while imports were at US$ 57.28 bn, showing a merchandise trade gap of US$15.6 billion.
Kumar added that such an impressive increase in overall exports growth despite the geopolitical tensions especially the Russia Ukraine war, Red Sea crisis, tight monetary stance by the developed world and falling commodity prices posing challenge, portrays the full dedication and commitment of the sector, which has continuously been braving such odds post Covid.
The exporters have consistently been performing, driving the growth of exports, and also adding to the growth momentum of the economy, he said on 15 Apr 2024.
Separately PHDCCI https://www.phdcci.in/ has also lauded India’s exports resilience
Despite several adverse events, such as disruptions in the global supply chains, tussles in the Red Sea https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/ , escalation in geopolitical developments and high interest rates, and voilatlity in commodity prices, India’s exports are able to make a positive move in 2023–24.
PHDCCI President Sanjeev Agrawal said, “We look forward to a great growth trajectory in the current financial year 2024-25 at the back of increased demand for Indian goods in foreign markets, supported by the ease of doing exports in the country.
“As supply chains become stronger with the Middle East and European markets, the export trajectory is expected to perform better in the current financial year.” fiinews.com
