Page 18 - Trade Exports

Merchandise exports may shrink despite expecting double-digit growth in Mar

Merchandise exports grew at fastest pace in 20 months at 11.9% in Feb

Enhance biz environment, boost non-farm jobs via trade openness: World Bank

Labour productivity and the working-age population, the twin engines of growth in the South Asian region, are slowing

Govt waives duty on export of 1,000 tonnes of non-basmati kalanamak rice

The government has removed duty on the Kalanamak variety of rice for exports of up to 1,000 tonnes through six specified customs stations. The duty on overseas shipments of Kalanamak rice was 20 per cent. According to a notification by the Finance Ministry, the duty waiver on the export of up to 1,000 tonnes of this variety of rice will come into effect from Wednesday. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Tuesday had allowed exports of up to 1,000 tonnes of Kalanamak rice through specified customs stations. Kalanamak is a variety of non-basmati rice, exports of which were earlier prohibited. Exports of this variety of rice are allowed through six customs stations - Varanasi Air Cargo; JNCH (Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House), Maharashtra; CH (customs house) Kandla, Gujarat; LCS (land customs station) Nepalgunj Road; LCS Sonauli; and LCS Barhni.

Strong signals: Mobile phone output tops Rs 4.1 trillion in FY24

Industry experts attribute the increase in the average sale price of a phone to customers' shift towards premiumisation, bolstered by the growing adoption of 5G phones

India's push for EVs may lead to entry of Chinese firms in mkt: GTRI

The Indian government's push to boost domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs) may lead to large-scale entry of Chinese auto firms in the local market, a report by think tank GTRI said on Sunday. China's automotive industry, buoyed by substantial state support, has grown rapidly in electric vehicle technology, making it a leading exporter of EVs and related components, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. The renewed policy push to make India a hub for e-vehicle manufacturing and efforts of the private sector will lead to a sharp increase in dependence on auto component imports from China, the report said. India's auto component imports were USD 20.3 billion in 2022-23 of which 30 per cent came from China. As the EVs are getting greater focus in the country, the auto component imports from China may increase further because it has a greater hold over the EV components' global supply chain. According to estimates, China has 75 per cent of the world's battery .

Govt extends export ban on onion to increase domestic availability

The government has extended the export ban on onion till further orders, according to a notification of the commerce ministry. Earlier, it was prohibited till March 31 this year. "Export prohibition on export of onions valid till 31st March 2024, is extended until further orders," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said in a notification dated March 22. DGFT is an arm of the ministry which deals with exports and imports-related issues.

India's exports may reach $450 bn this fiscal: FIEO Prez Ashwani Kumar

The country's merchandise exports are expected to reach USD 450 billion by the end of this fiscal despite geo-political challenges like the Red Sea crisis, newly elected president of apex exporters body FIEO Ashwani Kumar said on Tuesday. He said that the need of the hour is to address the Red Sea crisis challenges by ensuring the availability of marine insurance and rational increase in freight charges. The exporting sector, particularly, MSMEs, needs easy and low-cost credit, and marketing support to further boost the country's exports, Kumar said, adding early conclusion of free trade agreements such as with the UK and Oman will also help push the outbound shipments. "I will focus on addressing issues of MSMEs as they are going to play. They will play a key role in achieving the USD 1 trillion goods export target by 2030. They are the backbone of the economy and they are facing certain issues pertaining to credit. I would urge banks to come forward in extending support to these

Significant ramp up in capacities to help achieve $40 bn exports target

Steps such as significant ramp up in production capacities, and skilling of workforce will help achieve USD 40 billion garment exports target by 2030, AEPC said on Tuesday. Apparel Export Promotion Council of India (AEPC) Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said skilled workers like tailors and quality checkers are still not sufficient as during the peak season they go to their native villages thereby creating shortage. "Our target to reach USD 40 billion of RMG (readymade garments) export by 2030 can be a reality and my duty is to take every possible step to reach this target," Sekhri said. He said "we need to ramp up our capacities as the export houses in India are still unable to handle core/basic products which are required in huge quantities". He added that the council is also focused on skilling the workforce. "We are creating about 150,000 skilled workers every year but it is still not enough. To attain the growth that we are targeting, we need to empower our workforce with skills," he

Rajasthan govt prepares draft policy to boost exports via ease of doing biz

The draft policy strives to have competitive export logistics in the state for all modes. The focus will also be on skill development programmes to encourage entrepreneurship in the field

Global toy majors shifting focus from China to India, exports jumped 239%

Popular brands like Hasbro, Mattel, and Spin Master depend more on India for sourcing

TEPA with EFTA - welcome but no big deal

The EFTA's market access offer covers 100 per cent of non-agricultural products and tariff concessions on processed agricultural products

India's smartphone exports to US jump to $ 3.53 bn in Apr-Dec FY24

India's smartphone exports to the US jumped to USD 3.53 billion in April-December this fiscal against USD 998 million in the same period last year, according to the Commerce Ministry data. The increasing outbound shipments led to an increase in the smarphones' market share to 7.76 per cent during April-December this fiscal from 2 per cent in the same period of last year, the data showed. Increasing exports have made India the third-biggest smartphone exporter to the US. An official said that an increase in overall smartphone production has helped in pushing exports. During the nine-month period of this fiscal, the share of China and Vietnam declined. The US smartphone imports from the top five suppliers also declined during April-December to USD 45.1 billion from USD 49.1 billion in FY'23. China exported USD 35.1 billion worth of smartphones to the US market in April-December, down from USD 38.26 billion last year. Vietnam's shipments of phones declined to USD 5.47 billion in ..

Exports grow fastest in 20 months; Feb trade deficit widens to $18.71 bn

Export growth in February was led by electronics, meat, dairy and poultry, chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and engineering goods

Oilmeals exports increased 9% in Feb to nearly 516K tonnes, says SEA

Oilmeals export rose 9 per cent year-on-year in February to nearly 5.16 lakh tonnes on higher outward shipments of soyabean meal, according to trade data. In a statement on Friday, Solvent Extraction of India (SEA) said the export of oilmeals in February stood at 515,704 tonne as compared to 4,71,770 tonne in the year-ago period. Of the total oilmeals export last month, the shipments of soyabean meal stood at 3,47,905 tonne and rapeseed meal 1,44,372 tonne. The data showed that the total export of oilmeals during the April-February period of this fiscal increased 19 per cent to 44,90,055 tonne as compared to 37,60,329 tonne in the corresponding period of the previous year. The export of soybean meal during the April-February period of the 2023-24 fiscal rose to 19.34 lakh tonne compared to 7.87 lakh tonne in the same period of the previous year as Indian soybean meal was most competitive in the international market. However, SEA said that soyameal exports might slow down because

UP govt aims to develop MSME export hubs to compete in global markets

The MSME department is working on a plan to promote 75 districts as potential export hubs for local industries to create jobs and contribute to the Rs 1 trillion dollar economy goal

Niti Aayog comes up with roadmap to boost exports from MSME sector

Niti Aayog has made a case for a single information portal for exporters to promote e-commerce exports and improve access to finance, especially for micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs). In a report titled 'Boosting Exports from MSMEs', the Aayog said India has several portals that help exporters access information, most of which offer incomplete or outdated information. "Therefore, creating a one-stop information data intelligence portal, using an Al-based interface will be essential to impart information to MSMEs," the report said, adding that this portal will answer all the queries of a potential exporter related to market tariffs, required paperwork, sources of finance, service providers, available incentives, and potential customers. The report also suggested introducing an annual financial reconciliation process for e-commerce exporters, exemption of import duties on rejects or returns, granting exemption on reconciliation requirements for shipments up to USD 1,000 and .

Exports to close fiscal at same level as FY23-24 amid uncertainties: Goyal

Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal has exuded confidence that during this fiscal, the country's goods and services export numbers will be at the same level; as it was last year despite slowdown and uncertainties in the global trade. He also said that the government measures such production-linked incentives schemes and focus on high-quality goods and services would help in containing the country's trade deficit. So our trade deficit will be significantly lower than last year. "I am happy to share with you that we close the current year in March at the same level as last year. We have a little bit of an adjustment between goods and services, but collectively we will be at the same level as last year, which will be a very, very significant achievement given that most developing countries and less developed countries are seeing a fall in their international trade," Goyal told PTI in an interview. Cumulatively, the country's merchandise exports in April-January 2023-24 contrac

Govt plugs loopholes in imports of QCO items

The new disciplines imposed on imports of items subject to QCOs are well intended

India, EFTA ink free trade agreement; $100 bn investment target in 15 yrs

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland

India-EFTA trade deal to bring in $100 billion investment in 15 years

The investment will be linked to the creation of one million jobs in India