India to announce steps within this week to support exporters hit by West Asia disruptions

The government has set up an inter-ministerial group under the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to monitor the situation closely and address exporters’ concerns.

• India to aid exporters amid West Asia disruptions
• Daily meetings held to address exporters' issues
• Exports expected to reach $860 billion despite regional issues

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The Indian government is working on a set of measures to support exporters facing disruptions in trade with West Asia, with details expected to be announced within this week, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on March 16.

Agrawal acknowledged that India’s exports to the region could face some impact, though imports from the same markets are also likely to be affected.

“There are logistical challenges, especially in the movement of ships, while air cargoes are also facing certain issues. If you look at Indian exports to the region, they will suffer, but their imports will also. Both sides are engaged to find solutions which will address some of these challenges and reduce the impact it may have,” he said.

The government has set up an inter-ministerial group under the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to monitor the situation closely and address exporters’ concerns.

The group meets daily at 10 a.m. to gather feedback and resolve issues faced by exporters sending goods to the affected region.

“The group looks at whatever challenges are being faced by exporters and how they can be resolved to reduce the pain of our exporters sending goods to that region,” Agrawal said.

While merchandise exports could still grow this fiscal year, Agrawal indicated that the disruptions may weigh on India’s full potential.

“Overall export numbers, there will be some impact on the potential exports. Maybe my number will be higher than last year, but I could have done much better,” he said.

However, he still expects India’s goods and services exports to be around $860 billion this fiscal year, with merchandise shipments likely to remain in positive growth territory compared with the previous year.

“Whatever exports we lose from that part of the world, we will try and make up with more exports to other markets. We would like to be in positive territory versus last year on merchandise exports by the end of this fiscal,” he said.

India’s merchandise exports stood at $402.93 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, higher than $395.66 billion in the same period last fiscal year. Overall outbound shipments, including services, were at $790.9 billion, up from $747.6 billion a year earlier