MUMBAI: The country is likely to miss its export target and may end up below the $300 billion mark in 2015-16 due to the global slowdown, a senior official said today.
“We registered exports of $312 billion last year and set a target of $325 billion this fiscal. We will be very happy if we achieve exports of USD 300 billion, but we may fall short of $300 billion,” Ministry of Commerce and Industry Joint Secretary Ravi Kapoor told reporters on the sidelines of ‘India Engineering Sourcing Show’ here.
The three-day exhibition is being organised by Engineering Exports Promotion Council of India (EEPC India). The country’s exports declined for the eleventh month running in October, highlighting the stiff competition faced by the country in a weak global economy.
Exports in the first seven months of the year were about $154.2 billion, indicating that tepid global demand continues to be a drag on economic recovery. Kapoor said the fall in exports was due to sharp fall in prices of petroleum products.
The country’s export basket is led by petroleum products, followed by engineering, gems and jewellery, textiles and pharmaceutical goods, he said.
He pointed out that the government has taken various steps to help exporters, including revision in drawback rates and providing interest subvention.
He further said the government has decided to improve and protect the intellectual property rights of innovators by upgrading infrastructure and using state-of-the-art technology. The government is also looking at resolving the issues like transaction cost, which is very high, he added.
“As the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign has caught the imagination of global investors, major companies like manufacturers of iPhone and iPad are expected to set up their facilities in the country,” the official added. Big players like Xiaomi and Huawei have already set up manufacturing units, while Foxconn is expected to open its plant soon, he said.
EEPC India chairman T S Bhasin said the focus of sourcing from the country would be on key sectors like industrial supply, electrical machinery, automotive components, innovation technology, retail engineering and engineering products. Nearly 400 exhibitors, 500 overseas buyers and 10,000 trade buyers are attending the IESS 2015 event, he said.
