Apex trade body foresees positive export growth this fiscal

Chennai: After witnessing a decline last fiscal, exports are expected to get better in the coming months and register growth in the ongoing fiscal as the order books are looking positive, said the apex trade body.  

In FY24, merchandise exports declined 3.10 per cent as the global turmoil affected demand. However, in April exports were marginally up by 1.06 per cent.

“Growth of over 1 per cent is a good sign even during such challenging times. This not only shows the determination of the resilient export sector but also the efforts and hard work that the exporting community is putting together. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war coupled with various major geo-political tensions including the Red Sea crisis and Israel-Hamas conflict has also made the international trade scenario much tougher for the Indian exporters,” said Ashwani Kumar, president, the Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation.

According to him, things are looking up as the order books show positive signals.  

“We hope that exports will start showing better growth numbers with improved demand in the European Union, UK, West Asia and the US, which has given a boost to the order bookings by over 10 per cent and has come as a sign of recovery for labour-intensive sectors of exports including leather and leather products, footwear and apparels. With fresh orders also expected to show some positive beginning, tariff war between the US and China may come as an opportunity for the country’s exports sector,” he said.

FIEO finds that the government has to take steps on the liquidity front with deeper interest subvention support and continuation of the interest equalization scheme. Red Sea crisis challenges have to be addressed by ensuring the availability of marine insurance and ensuring rational increases in freight charges. The sector also needs easy and low-cost credit, and marketing support. It also urged the government to conclude some of the key free trade agreements with the UK, Peru and Oman at the earliest.