Shipping ministry asked to monitor trade volume at major ports in India
The Centre, state governments and industry representatives will meet on January 16 to discuss ways to boost the country's exports, an official said. Issues which are expected to figure in the meeting include rupee payment challenges, need of global shipping, and challenges being faced by traders on account of the Red Sea crisis, and uncertain global economic situation due to the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas conflict. The meeting will be chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. They all are members of the Board of Trade (BoT). "There are over 135 members of BoT. It is meeting on January 16 at Bharat Mandapam," the official said. Headed by the minister, the board includes participants from various states, Union Territories, and senior officials from the public and private sectors. In the meeting, representatives of export promotion councils present their views on the export sector. The board provides an opportunity to have regular discussions and consultations
Indian exporting firms need to gear themselves up to comply with new EU norms as the European Union is moving towards a paperless customs process from June 3 this year. The development assumes significance for domestic exporters as the European Union (EU) accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total merchandise exports. In 2022-23, India exported goods worth USD 75 billion to EU as against the country's total exports of USD 451 billion in that financial year. The EU has proposed to implement the second phase of its Import Control System (ICS) from June 3 this year. ICSD 1 was applicable to the air mail and express deliveries from March 15, 2021, and then it was extended to air cargo from March last year. The 'ICS2' will now be extended to cover all type of imports using ships, trains, trucks also on June 3, 2024. First two phases covered 15 per cent imports into the EU, third and final phase cover balance 85 per cent of the imports by value. According to a European Commission .
The commerce ministry has set up a task force to identify and resolve trade barriers being faced by exporters in other countries, a move which would help provide greater market access to domestic goods, an official said. The development assumes significance as many times India's exports suffer from these barriers such as time taking prior registration requirements and unreasonable domestic standards/rules in many countries. "We have constituted a task force within the ministry where we will be looking at the trade barriers, and technical barriers. The ministry has been focusing on how to improve systems, and improve standards," the official said. The ministry is also looking at improving mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with different countries so that product standards are as per the requirements of the importing countries. Standards for goods and services should help in promoting global trade and not act as non-tariff barriers, the official added. According to a report of th
Expressing concern over the current influenza situation in China, domestic exporters on Sunday said that they are cautiously watching the situation as any spread of the disease may again hurt global supply chains and impact world trade. They said that the present situation is not alarming but if the illness spreads to other parts of the globe, it will have an impact on world trade as China is a hub of global manufacturing and exports. The government on November 24 stated that India is prepared for any kind of exigency that may emerge from the current influenza situation in China and it is monitoring the outbreak of H9N2 and clusters of respiratory illness in children in that country. There is a low risk to India from the avian influenza, H9N2, cases reported in China as well as the clusters of respiratory illness, the Union health ministry has said. Some media reports indicated a clustering of cases of respiratory illness in children in northern China for which the World Health ...
In a free trade agreement (FTA), the utilisation rate is one of the key parameters to assess how a trade agreement is faring or the real gains from the deal
The Commerce Ministry, which automated the process for issuance of exporter status certificates, is expected to issue about 20,000 such documents by the end of this year, a senior official said on Wednesday. Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi said this would be a big jump in the issuance of these certificates, and so far, they have issued over 40,200 status-holder certificates. "There are another 2,000 applications, which are under scrutiny because of their prior history. But ultimately, those will also get issued, and by the end of this year, we expect about 20,000 status holders to be recognised through this automated process," he told reporters here. Last month, DGFT said that an exporter status certificate will now be issued based on the available electronic data, and traders will not have to apply to get the recognition. These certificates provide certain privileges, including simplified procedures under foreign trade policy (FTP), priority custom .
E-commerce company Amazon has slashed subscription fees for new exporters to USD 1 from USD 120 per month for the first three months of onboarding the platform, the company said on Wednesday. Amazon will start the annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) sale event between November 17 and 27, 2023 on its global website where it will list products from Indian exporters. "To enable more businesses to leverage e-commerce exports and sell globally during the upcoming holiday season, Amazon has slashed the subscription fee for Indian exporters joining its global selling program for the first three months from USD 120 (39.99 per month) to just USD 1. This limited time offer is available to exporters joining this program on or before March 31, 2024," the company said in a statement. In the recently concluded Prime Big Deal Days Sale on October 10 and 11, 2023, Indian exporters on Amazon Global Selling saw their business grow nearly 70 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and 170 per cent compare
The DGFT has now brought into sharp focus the urgency to deal with the EODC applications quickly and get the statuses of the authorisations updated where the EODCs are issued
Exporter status certificate will now be issued based on the available electronic data, and traders will not have to apply to get the recognition, the commerce ministry said on Monday. These certificates provide certain privileges, including simplified procedures under foreign trade policy (FTP) and priority custom clearances on a self-declaration basis, exemption from compulsory negotiation of documents through banks, and exemption from filing bank guarantees for FTP schemes. Upon achieving prescribed export performance, status recognition as one, two, three, four and five-star export houses is accorded to the eligible applicants as per their export performance. The new system-based automatic 'Status Holder' certificates under the FTP 2023 were unveiled in a meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal with the Export Promotion Councils here. "Now, the exporter will not be required to apply to the office of Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for a Status Certific
The Israel-Hamas conflict is expected to impact the trade of gems and jewellery between India and Israel, exporters said on Monday. Colin Shah, MD, Kama Jewelry, said the war can "adversely" impact Indian exports to Israel. Total gems and jewellery trade between India and Israel stood at USD 2.04 billion in 2022-23 as against USD 2.8 billion in 2021-22. "The war situation will further intensify the blow to the trade between Israel and its second-largest trading partner in Asia, India," Shah said. Mumbai-based exporter and founder chairman of Technocraft Industries India Sharad Kumar Saraf said the conflict may have an impact on Indian exporters in the short run. "But if the war escalates, things may get bitter for our exporters of that region," Saraf said. GTRI co-founder Ajay Srivastava stated that trade may be seriously impacted if operations at the three largest ports of Israel -- Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat are disrupted. Cut and polished diamonds constitute the highest exported
Indian exporters shipping goods to Israel may face higher insurance premiums and shipping costs due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to experts. Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented multifront attack by air, land and sea by the Hamas militant group, which rules the Gaza Strip, in its southern parts on Saturday morning. The International trade experts said the conflict may reduce the profits of domestic exporters but will not impact trade volumes unless war escalates. "For merchandise exports of India, the war may lead to higher insurance premiums and shipping costs. India's ECGC may charge higher risk premiums from Indian firms exporting to Israel," think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said on Sunday. ECGC Ltd (formerly Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd) is wholly owned by the government of India. It was set up in 1957 with the objective of promoting exports from the country by providing credit risk insurance and related services for ...
Imports from Russia second-largest in April-August period, shows data
India will emerge as a key player in renewable energy equipment supply chain globally and become an exporter as its solar manufacturing capacity alone would touch 100GW by 2026, a top official said. The government is implementing a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme with an outlay of Rs 24,000 crore which is estimated to aid setting up 48 GW of solar equipment manufacturing capacity by 2026. "We aim to create India as a leading global supplier of renewable energy (equipment)," New & Renewable Energy Secretary Bhupinder Singh Bhalla said at a CII event here. Bhalla said the solar PLI scheme worth Rs 24,000 crore will create 48GW of new RE manufacturing capacity in next three years. India has 28GW of solar module manufacturing capacity and 6GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity at present, he said. After the implementation of the PLI scheme for solar, India should be in a position to have 100GW solar module manufacturing capacity, he pointed out. "We need to add 30GW to ..
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday expressed hope that exporters will come out as winners from the impact of the current global uncertainties. He said there are challenges on the global trade front due to the ongoing geo-political situation, concerns on inflation, and slowing growth in key economies. "We do have challenges but our business people have the ability and agility to come out as winners from this adverse situation," he said here while addressing exporters at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). He also exuded confidence that the country's goods and services exports would reach USD 2 trillion by 2030. The minister appealed to the industry to focus on quality and innovation with a view to increasing exports. India's exports contracted by 15.88 per cent in July, for the sixth month in a row, to USD 32.25 billion due to a global slowdown and fall in shipments of key sectors like petroleum, gems and jewellery, accord
Government and exporters have to take urgent steps like devising mechanisms for monitoring emissions data, and providing incentives for the adoption of greener technologies to deal with the European Union's carbon tax as it would impact exports of sectors like metals, a report said. Suggesting a nine-step action plan, the report by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that Indian firms have less than 40 days to prepare for the CBAM (carbon border adjustment mechanism) transition. The CBAM or carbon tax (a kind of import duty) will come into effect from January 1, 2026, but from October 1 this year, domestic companies from seven carbon-intensive sectors, including steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium and hydrocarbon products, will have to share data with regard to carbon emissions with the EU. "The CBAM tax will start from January 2026, but there are penalties on not reporting, negligent reporting or mis-reporting of data from October 1, 2023, onwards," GTRI co-founder Ajay .
Exim Bank on Tuesday said it has launched subsidiary Exim Finserve at the Gujarat International Financial Tec-City (GIFT City) to offer a comprehensive range of trade finance products to Indian exporters. Exim Finserve will provide a combination of three essential services to exporters: receivables financing, coverage of the risk of non-payment and management of accounts receivable, Exim Bank said in a release. Exim Finserve, or India Exim Finserve IFSC Private Limited, will extend a range of trade finance products to Indian exporters, with a primary focus on export factoring, it said. "This would lead to improved cash flow and reduced payment risk for exporters, enabling them to confidently explore new markets and seize growth opportunities. "The factoring services would be particularly beneficial for MSME exporters as it is primarily based on the quality of accounts receivable, rather than collateral," stated the release. The subsidiary of Exim Bank was announced in the Union Bu
Fintech company Razorpay on Wednesday announced the launch of its MoneySaver Export Account to offer up to 50 per cent savings on international bank transfers for Indian exporters. The company will help small and mid-size exporters open an account in a country of their choice and receive payments locally via Razorpay's platform, hence avoiding chargebacks and transfer costs. The initiative allows exporters to receive international bank transfers from 160 countries, it added. Users can access the feature on the Razorpay dashboard. All payments will come with an electronic Foreign Inward Remittance Statement, the company said. Rahul Kothari, Chief Business Officer, Razorpay, said the service already supports over 10,000 exporters.
Indian exporters on Amazon's e-commerce exports programme Amazon Global Selling saw nearly 70 per cent year-on-year business growth during Prime Day, the company said. The exporters from tier-2 and tier-3 cities grew from 40 per cent on year to up to 75 per cent on year, with Panipat emerging at the top in terms of exporter growth followed by Indore and Jaipur (55 pc y-o-y), and Erode (40 per cent on year). The highest sale was grossed in the beauty category (125 per cent y-o-y), followed by apparel at 122 per cent on-year growth. Products in "home" category registered 81 per cent on year growth followed by 75 per cent on year growth in furniture and 52 per cent growth in kitchen products, in the two-day sale event on July 11 and 12 this year, Amazon India said. Japan emerged as a new high-growth destination for exports as buyers from North America, Europe, Middle East and Japan shopped for Indian export products. With more than 200 million Amazon Prime members globally, Prime Day
Global logistics firm Tiger Logistics (India) on Monday said it has signed a pact with online loan marketplace OneNDF to facilitate collateral-free cargo value financing for SME exporters. The tie-up will also help Tiger Logistics integrate the financing solution with its digital freight booking and management platform FreightJar to provide enhanced access to cash to these exporters, it said. The cargo value financing solution will enable 90 per cent of export invoice value to be financed within 48 hours, the company claimed. SME exports are crucial to the economy, and bridging and bringing access through short-term funding will open up new opportunities for us to scale in the SME segment, Harpreet Singh Malhotra, chairman and managing director, Tiger Logistics (India) Ltd, said. The association with OneNDF will enable the company's SME customers to access working capital seamlessly without any collateral, he added. The collaboration will help Tiger Logistics scale its exports in