Annual FTP supplement after March trade data, says Anand Sharma

The commerce ministry on Wednesday said it would wait for the trade data for March before announcing the annual supplement of the foreign trade policy (FTP), likely to include steps to boost exports.

The trade data for February, released on March 11, showed exports had risen that month. From May 2012 through December, exports had contracted. In February, exports rose 4.23 per cent, after a mere 0.82 per cent rise in January. In April 2012, exports had risen 3.23 per cent.

"I will wait to look at the final numbers of March. Soon thereafter, the policy would be announced," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told reporters after meeting exporters on Wednesday. At the meeting, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) officials raised concern over high yarn prices, rising transactions costs and the effect of high interest rates on export credit.

Earlier, Sharma had met officials from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci). "We have had three rounds with CII and Ficci, and now with FIEO, over this (FTP). All export councils' recommendations are with us. We will look at these seriously and take the best possible way forward," Sharma said.

He added the Board of Trade would meet on March 22. "After that, we will seriously settle to finalising the FTP," he said.

For the first 11 months of the current financial year, exports fell four per cent to $265.95 billion, while imports grew a mere 0.25 per cent to $448 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $182.1 billion.

Though the $300-billion exports target for this financial year seems difficult, at on Wednesday's meeting, FIEO estimated FY13 exports at $400 billion.