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Uninspired by export growth easing to 3.49% in December, India Inc has asked the government to consider measures, including widening the scope of incentives, to help the country's outbound shipments expand at double-digit rates.
"Though exports rose 3.49% they seem to have lost momentum as they had been growing at a double-digit rate until October," Chairman of CII Export Committee Sanjay Budhia said.
"We hope the government will help exporters by including more products and countries in Focus Product Scheme and Focus market Scheme, where we enjoy an advantage. Also we need to relook at the duty drawback rates," he added.
India's exports grew 3.49% in December to $26.3 billion, while imports dipped 15.25%.
"Export growth of 3.5%, although lower month on month, reflects a turnaround in external sector. However, it would not suffice. We have to keep a check on trade deficit, which is more a function of import compression than a robust export expansion," EEPC India Chairman Anupam Shah said.
However, lower imports helped to narrow the trade deficit to $10.1 billion in December compared with $17.5 billion in the same period of 2012.
"We must not forget that trade deficit has narrowed significantly mainly because of import compression which is also a sign of significant slowdown in consumption-led growth and investment-led economic expansion," Assocham President Rana Kapoor said.
Growth in exports was slower than in November, when outbound shipments rose 5.86%.
"I hope the growth in exports will be back on track in the last quarter to achieve the target of $325 billion for the current fiscal," Ficci President Sidharth Birla said.
"If sustained, the drop in trade deficit can ease pressure on current account deficit (CAD), make the Rupee less volatile and enable the country to more effectively manage risks in our external sector," Birla added.
Commerce Secretary S R Rao said export growth slowed mainly because of a drop in petroleum exports.
"While reduction in trade deficit provides some solace, we are not happy with a modest growth of 3.49% in exports. All out efforts are required to keep export growth in the double-digit," FIEO President M Rafeeque Ahmed said.
For the April-December period, exports aggregated $230.3 billion and imports $340.3 billion while the trade deficit stood at $110 billion.
