Finmin to review Re impact on exports in Jan

Exporters are unlikely to get any additional package from the government anytime soon as the finance ministry will review the impact of rupee appreciation against the dollar only in January next year.

"The current package will run till December 31 this year. We will assess the rupee value in January and then decide on the issue," a finance ministry source told PTI.

Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had earlier said his ministry was thinking of a new package for exporters as the appreciating rupee has adversely affected exports.

The Indian currency has risen nearly 10% against the greenback in the past one year. The rupee today rose about 0.3% to 40.54 against the dollar, the strongest intra-day level since August 13.

According to commerce ministry officials, the ministry has constituted a team to understand the impact of the rupee appreciation at the ground level and some more incentives could be announced for exporters.

The appreciating rupee has hurt export growth, which has come down to 18.22% during April-July period as against 27.63% during the year-ago period. During this period, the rupee appreciated 8.2%.

Exporters argue their products are losing competitiveness in global markets because many of them booked orders when the rupee was ruling at 44/45 to the dollar and received payment when it had strengthened to around 40/41.

Although the government had announced a Rs 1,500 crore package in July, but it mainly benefitted job-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather and small companies. Other sectors are now clamouring for similar benefits.