Strong currency will always be good for exports, says Piyush Goyal

A strong currency reflects the strength of a nation and will support exports, contrary to the general notion that a weak currency supports exports, said Piyush Goyal

A strong currency reflects the strength of a nation and will support exports, contrary to the general notion that a weak currency supports exports, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

“If we want to be a $5-trillion economy, our exports of goods and services will have to be a trillion dollars at least — ideally 25 per cent, but at the very least 20 per cent.  And why I said 25 per cent, because we need to support our import of oil. Therefore, our exports will have to really go up by leaps and bounds, so that we can continue to finance our imports and strengthen the rupee in the days to come,” Goyal said, while delivering a keynote address of industry lobby group Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

Goyal’s comment comes in the backdrop of the rupee falling to a record low at 76.97 against the dollar earlier in the day, settling 1.05 per cent weaker than the previous close. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, oil prices jumped 29.4 per cent and the rupee depreciated 3.2 per cent.

“I personally am not of the old school of thought (or) one section of Industry or society or exporters which believes that a weak rupee or a weak currency supports exports. I believe a strong currency reflects the strength of a nation and will always be good for exports, because India, at the end of the day, is a net importer of goods. A strong currency supports the Indian economy,” the minister said.