Exporters happy with trade policy

After months of clamouring for help, exporters today said they are happy with the Foreign Trade Policy that has offered them, among others, subsidised credit and help to diversify to new markets.

"It is a very realistic trade policy. I think new products (and) new countries have been best thought out... In a very innovative Foreign Trade Policy," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said on the five-year policy unveiled by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma today.

"It is a welcome policy. He (Sharma) has given us free dollar credit, extended interest subvention scheme and enhancement in focus product scheme and focus market scheme. The new markets that have been identified will help exporters," export body FIEO President A Sakthivel said.

India extended tax holiday for one more year and announced continuing the duty refund scheme till December 2010 for exporters, while allowing duty free capital goods import under FTP to insulate them from protectionism induced by recession abroad.

The country set a target of $200 billion worth exports for next fiscal, a feat that it failed to achieve in 2008-09 due to a slump in global demand in the face of financial crisis.