To tide over the present global slowdown and the crisis in the , small and medium enterprises of the world predominantly from south east asian and African nations have started focussing on outsourcing raw material from Madhya Pradesh. They say, the state has the potential to export raw material for agro processing industry, chemical and medicines, herbal products and handicraft items.
As many as 75 companies from Belarus, Ukrain, Surinam, Senegal, Bahamas, Germany, Panama, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia congregated in Indore at a fair organised by the Madhya Pradesh Laghu Udyog Nigam and entered into dialogues and deals with their counterparts in Madhya Pradesh for importing raw material and various products that include water pumps, processed wool felts and even defence simulators.
“Madhya Pradesh has immense potential for exporting herbal extracts and chemicals as it has 12 agro-climatic zones,” Adamou Fofana, director general of Ercom Sarl, an Ethopian company that entered into a deal with the Bhopal-based Hind Pharma for chemical imports. He said, “The companies in these provinces will provide us cheaper raw material which we import from other nations.”
The flood of cheap products, particularly from China, are gradually pushing local entrepreneurs out of business and is posing a challenge to the country’s economic growth. The state MSMEs have raised hopes in the present turbulence time that private sector should be acknowledged as the engine of growth.
“If your government pays attention to agri products, Korea can increase its import size, particularly of rice,” Byung-So Lee, vice chairman of Korea Importers Association advised. He participated in the expo with a delegation of traders to explore possibilities in organic food and had reached at an advance state of discussion with local companies.
Countries like Malaysia, Belarus and Nepal are aggressive on importing rice and digital equipments from Madhya Pradesh. “Indian MSMEs are now offering cheaper but better quality products than those of China, I am likely to import rice from this state,” said Ruslana Satsunkevich, sales manager of a company in the Republic of Belarus.
Chong Lee Yen of Natural Wellness, a Malaysian company also wants this state to offer cost effective products and raw material particularly herbal products if MSMEs have to advance further. “We would like to increase our business if the state makes promises,” she told Business Standard. Although faclilities like grant of benefit under the duty entitlement pass book (DEPB) scheme is another incentive would help the MSME export segment overcome meltdown, the local industries want the Indian government to set up a nodal agency that can ease documentation process which makes exports difficult.
Madhya Pradesh government has indicated that it will to come up with certain provisions in he forthcoming indystry policy but till than exporters will have to find newer markets at their own.
“We will try to set up a separate cell that can work in sync with state and central government to iron out exporters problem, we are serious over the issue,” Kailash Vijayvergia, minister for industries said. But for Hind Pharma, slowdown means aggressive in business.
“If MSMEs alters their strategy and taps the potential in the rest of the world to look for new markets during the present low interest regime, the slowdown impact can be lowered,” said RS Goswami, top executive of the company, who is also president of Madhya Pradesh Small Scale Industries Assocaition. He also has embarked on a strategy to educate entrepreneurs to come out of the red in tough time.
During the last 15 years, export basket of Madhya Pradesh with around 3.5 million MSMEs has not swelled from Rs 2,000 crore annually. The initiatives of the entrepreneurs have raised new hopes for the state and the global MSMEs, which are the worst sufferers of economic meltdown.
