Commerce ministry, export promotion councils discuss ways to boost exports

Overall exports (merchandise and Services combined) from the country recorded a growth of 13.31 per cent in 2017-18 year-on-year. Overall exports stood at $498.61 billion in 2017-18, of which merchandise exports accounted for $303.53 billion.

After achieving a turnaround from the initial shock and reaching a peak export figure of $314.4 billion in 2013-14, India’s exports came under immense pressure in the post 2013-14 period due to accentuation of the global economic and financial crisis in the second phase when countries like China also got adversely affected. 

However, since then concerted efforts through improved logistics, trade facilitation, increased digitisation to reduce human interface and increase transparency, implementation of GST and capacity building through skilling the government has been able to arrest the downturn affecting India.

As a result, merchandise exports from the country have been growing since 2016-17 for almost three years and are likely to reach a new peak in 2018-19.

In the period April to December in FY2018-19, India’s merchandise exports have grown by about 10 per cent over the same period in the previous financial year.

The Department of Commerce has prepared a detailed export promotion strategy, which is under implementation in consultation with and with the support of wide-ranging stakeholders, including export promotion councils, exporters and financial institutions.