Government to revive dollar credit facility for exporters

The government will revive the dollar credit scheme for exporters and ensure availability of timely export credit in an effort to boost the country's exports.

Announcing this at the meeting of the Board of Trade, minister of commerce, industry and textiles, Anand Sharma, said that regular meetings of the inter-ministerial committee on dollar credit, formed in 2009, would start soon.

The committee, comprising representatives of the Reserve Bank of India, the ministries of commerce and finance and the banking industry, would meet within a fortnight to resolve the issue on dollar credit, he said.

Meanwhile, Ramu S Deora, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), suggested that Packing Credit in Foreign Currency (PCFC) be made available to exporters at LIBOR (London inter-bank offer rate) plus 200 basis points. Exporters should be allowed dollar credit up to at least 50 per cent of their dollar export earnings, he said.

The Board of Trade also took up the issue of ballooning trade deficit with neighbouring China, which has now emerged India's largest trading partner with bilateral trade touching $60 billion last year.

The board stressed the need to meaningfully engage China, which last year reported a $20 billion surplus in its trade with India. India's exports to China are largely commodity based, including iron ore, while its imports include value-added and manufactured products, including electronic goods.