The Centre will involve states and industry chambers in plans to boost exports amid increasing protectionism in most markets and a trade war between the US and China which could slow down global trade in 2019.
A meeting of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion is set for Thursday, and the stake holders are expected to draw up strategies to promote services, value addition in goods, organic cultivation, logistics and standards and certification.
“The objective was to ensure a continuous dialogue with the governments of states and Union territories on measures for providing an international trade enabling environment in the states and to create a framework for making the states active partners in boosting India’s exports,” a senior commerce ministry official said.
Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu will chair the panel, which has representations from state ministers, secretaries of central departments concerned and heads of export related organisations. The council is a platform to develop partnership with states.
The president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo), Ganesh Kumar Gupta, said issues related to credit and modern infrastructure needed to be resolved.
Ajay Sahai, director-general of the organisation, said they would draw the attention of policy makers on “infrastructure and marketing, last mile connectivity issues, basic infrastructure in export clusters, focus on logistics and marketing particularly in GI products”.
Sanjay Budhia, chairman of the CII national committee on exports and imports and MD of the Patton group, said the panel should focus on the cost of credit and its easy availability.
“Exporters should be supported for offsetting the cost disadvantage and non-abatement of taxes and duties by enhancing MEIS and duty drawback rates at the earliest and a National Shipping Regulatory Body should be formed in the lines of Irda and Trai to set freight rates to rationalise freight charges,” he said.
According to a study by Fieo, if India can increase the shipment of its top 200 export items by 0.5 per cent, total value can rise $80 billion.
The country's exports could increase about $80 billion if the government continues with its incentives and pushes the shipments of products such as milled rice, processed meat, frozen shrimps and prawns and mid-sized cars.
The council provides a platform to the state governments and the Union territories to articulate their perspective on trade policy to help them develop and pursue export strategies in line with national foreign trade policy.
The increased focus on coordinated action is important in the context of global slowdown in trade.
The WTO in September downgraded its growth forecast for trade, predicting the volume of goods moving worldwide would expand 3.9 per cent this year and slow to 3.7 per cent in 2019.
The Telegraph
