India's exports may rebound in coming months: PHD Chamber

Contracting for 9th month in a row, exports plunged 21% in August to $21.26 bn, widening the trade deficit

Notwithstanding the continuous decline for the past nine months, India's outbound shipments may see a turnaround in coming months, an analysis of exporters' orderbooks by PHD Chamber shows.

"The analysis on the basis of recent interactions with various exporters reveals that order books of the exporters have started reviving and we can see the exports growth trajectory turning positive in coming months," the chamber said.

Contracting for the ninth month in a row, India's exports plunged 20.66 per cent in August to $21.26 billion, widening the trade deficit.

Of the top 100 destinations of India's exports, 68 countries have seen a fall ranging from 10 per cent to over 50 per cent, the analysis revealed.

"Notwithstanding the deceleration in overall exports momentum, there are economies where India has posted good growth trajectory.

"Of the top 100 export destinations, 32 economies have posted a positive growth, ranging from 2 per cent to over 50 per cent, including Australia, Canada, Norway, Bahrain, Iraq, the Czech Republic, Chile, Ghana and Afghanistan, among others," the study said.

Moreover, it said several labour-intensive products have shown a positive growth, including handicrafts (18.6 per cent), jute (18.17), ceramic products (9.84), carpet (6.3), tea (5.3), ready-made garments (5) and spices (0.64), among others.

"Exporters are enthusiastic as a ray of hope is re-emerging to increase sales in the foreign market as the sentiment for business is improving on the domestic front and competitiveness in the global market is improving.

"However, the government must focus on encouraging exporters to venture into new countries, launching information portals for providing comprehensive information about export opportunities in various markets," the chamber pointed out.

Among the various promotional measures, a dedicated mobile application for foreign trade, enhancing fiscal incentives in terms of interest subvention scheme, reducing transaction costs by enhancing port facilities and adequate export infrastructure will be crucial to boost sentiment of exporters, it said.