Page 9 - Trade Exports

Small Indian exporters reel as Red Sea crisis helps rivals nab business

Re-routing via the Cape of Good Hope has meant ships sailing from India will often need an extra 15-20 days before reaching destinations in Europe, greatly increasing costs

Exports brave ongoing Red Sea crisis to post 3.2% growth in January

Trade deficit inched up to $17.49 billion

India Inc shows signs of the Red Sea conflict in Q3FY24 performance

Capital goods and engineering companies - Bharat Electronics, TD Power Systems and KEC International, all have noted some operational strain owing to Red Sea woes

PMO likely to review Red Sea conflict impact on trade and logistics

Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen have been repeatedly attacking ships in the Red Sea, and this has forced commercial vessels to take a longer route to avoid the troubled region

India closes in on Vietnam for tag of 'alternative to China' in tech sector

Owing to the persistent strain in US-China relations, Chinese supply chains have been looking at moving out of their country to locations which the US considers to be 'friendly'

Mobile PLI: Only the long-game matters

Rather than solely focusing on boosting exports, India should aim to become a global supplier of key components

High capex, railway corridors, focus on seafood to boost India's exports

Announcements of measures in the interim Budget such as high capex, three major economic railway corridors, and a target to increase seafood exports would help boost the country's overall outbound shipments, exporters say. The government has proposed to step up the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) by enhancing aquaculture productivity from existing 3 tonne to 5 tonne per hectare, and setting up five integrated aqua parks. CII National Committee on Exports and Imports Chairman Sanjay Budhia said that the announcement of a Rs 1 lakh crore corpus for innovation with a 50-year interest-free loan for long-term financing, refinancing at no or nil interest rates will encourage the private sector to scale up R&D and innovation in sunrise domains and new age technologies. "There is a reinforcement of continued thrust on exports. Announcement of three economic corridors, multi-modal connectivity, emphasis on additional airports, etc. and doubling the target of .

No adverse impact of ongoing Red Sea crisis so far on India's trade

There is no adverse impact on India's exports and imports so far due to the Red Sea crisis, an official said. The official said that the transportation cost has increased as the shippers are taking a long route. "There is no impact in volume terms so far. Only the transportation cost is up. It has risen for all the countries. It has not affected the trade adversely so far. We have to see the long term demand, but it will depend on the EU and the US," the official added. These two regions account for over 30 per cent of the country's total exports. However, exporters said that they are keeping their fingers crossed as due to the significant jump in freight cost, India's exports may be impacted. The trade data for January will be released by the commerce ministry on February 15. In December last year, exports rose marginally by one per cent to USD 38.45 billion. Due to the attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels on commercial ships, the movement of goods from the Red Sea, the world's

India seeks greater market access for steel, rice, shrimp from S Korea

India has sought greater market access for certain products such as steel, rice, and shrimp from South Korea with a view to boost exports of these goods, an official said. These are part of the negotiations, which are underway, for the upgradation of the existing free trade agreement between the two countries, which is officially dubbed as comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA). The agreement was operationalised in January 2010. The 10th round of upgradation talks are underway here. "We are asking for greater market access for products such as steel, rice and shrimp," the official said. In the meeting, India has flagged issues over Korean firms not buying Indian steel. "Korean firms in India also place orders from their local firms in Korea, so this is a double whammy for Indian companies. The Korean side has asked for an increase in price competitiveness here," the official added. On rice, there is a tariff rate quota of five lakh tonnes in Korea. Under this, they h

Indian toy makers receive orders worth crores at int'l toy fair in Germany

Indian toy makers, who participated in the five-day international toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany, have received huge orders worth crores as they had showcased high-quality products, exporters say. According to the toy exporters, buyers from countries such as the US, UK, South Africa, and Germany showed interest in their products and placed a good number of orders. The Nuremberg International Toy Fair concluded on February 3. Over 2,000 exhibitors from over 65 countries participated in one of the world largest toy fairs. Greater Noida-based Little Genius Toys Pvt Ltd CEO Naresh Kumar Gautam said: "Our products received huge appreciation. Be it wooden education toys or soft toys. There was a strong anti-China sentiment for Chinese toys and Indian toys were appreciated. About 60 firms participated." He said that two-Chinese firms have expressed keen interest to set up joint ventures with Little Genius in India for toy manufacturing. "The JV would cater to both national and internatio

India to sustain exports growth, Budget provides strong foundation: Goyal

India has sustained its export growth notwithstanding the global challenges emerging due to issues like the Israel-Hamas war and the Budget has laid out a strong foundation to push the economic growth, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. The minister said that certainly, the country is facing "very severe" challenges due to these conflicts. "But despite these challenges, India continues to be a bright spot in terms of economy, economic growth, and we continue to broadly sustained our exports...I think, the Indian story is a story of resilience, and strength," Goyal told PTI in a post-budget interaction. In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that geopolitically, global affairs are becoming more complex and challenging due to wars and conflicts. Globalization is being redefined with reshoring and friend-shoring, disruption and fragmentation of supply chains, and competition for critical minerals and technologies. A new world order

Royal Enfield sales rise 2% at 76,187 units in Jan, exports decline

Motorcycle maker Royal Enfield said on Thursday its total vehicle sales grew 2 per cent year-on year to 76,187 units in January 2024. The company had sold a total of 74,746 motorcycles in January 2023. The domestic sales were up 4 per cent at 70,556 motorcycles last month compared to 67,702 units while exports declined 20 per cent at 5631 units from 7044 units in January 2023, it stated. "Our recently launched motorcycles continue to perform well across markets, and we have had a great start to the new year. We are confident that we will sustain our growth momentum for months to come," said B Govindarajan, CEO at Royal Enfield.

Interim Budget 2024: Commerce department seeks 10% hike in Rodtep

For the current financial year, the finance ministry had allocated Rs 15,069 crore towards the scheme. A 10 per cent jump will make the allocation for the scheme Rs 16,575.9 crore

Red Sea route accounts for 50% country's exports, 30% of imports: Report

The impact of the ongoing crisis around the Red Sea shipping route, which accounts for 50 per cent of the country's exports and 30 per cent of imports last fiscal, will vary depending on the industry, according to a report. The crisis in the Red Sea shipping route began after Yemen-based Houthi rebels launched frequent attacks on commercial shipping vessels plying through the route in November as a fallout of the Israeli-Palestinian war, which started in early October 2023. Currently, the US and British forces are also engaged in counter-attacks on the militants. Domestic companies use the Red Sea route through the Suez Canal to trade with Europe, North America, North Africa and part of the Middle East. Last fiscal, these regions accounted for 50 per cent of the country's exports worth Rs 18 lakh crore and 30 per cent of imports worth Rs 17 lakh crore. The country's overall merchandise trade was Rs 94 lakh crore last fiscal, with 68 per cent in value and 95 per cent in volume being

Rodtep reimbursements: Govt likely to guide industry on documentation

The RoDTEP scheme allows refunds of the embedded non-creditable central, state and local levies paid on inputs to exporters and is compliant with World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms

Commerce ministry to launch portal to provide info to aspiring exporters

The commerce ministry will launch an online platform in the next 2-3 months to provide all relevant information, including details about custom duties, for aspiring exporters. Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi said the portal will act as a one-stop place for getting all information on engaging in export activities. The 'Trade Connect ePlatform' will provide facilitation for new and aspiring exporters, information on various regulations to access markets, sectors, export trends, and easy access of benefits under Free Trade Agreements. Besides, it will facilitate access to sector specific events along with a facility to address trade related queries to officials in Government of India and associated entities to get expert advice.

India's corn exports plunge as domestic prices rally on strong demand

India usually exports around 250,000 to 300,000 metric tons of corn every month but in December its exports fell to around 30,000 tons

Exports of oilmeals rise 16% to 1.22 mn tonne in December quarter

The country's oilmeals exports rose 16 per cent to 12.20 lakh tonne in the third quarter of the current fiscal compared to the year-ago period, industry body SEA said on Thursday. Around 10.53 lakh tonne of oilmeals was exported during the October-December quarter of 2022-23. According to the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), the country exported 6.24 lakh tonne of soybean meal, 4.79 lakh tonne of rapeseed meal, 1.14 lakh tonne of castor seed meal and 2,642 lakh tonne of groundnut meal in third quarter of the current fiscal. In December alone, total oilmeals exports were at 5.32 lakh tonne, up by 23 per cent from 4.33 lakh tonne in the year-ago period, it said. SEA said the country's export of soyameal rose due to price competitiveness amid shortage of Argentine export supplies in recent months. The major consumer of Indian soybean meal is South East Asia, where India has a logistic advantage and also can supply in small lots, it added. The industry body also mention

India rejects iron ore miner NMDC's proposal for China exports -sources

China accounts for around 80% of India's overall iron ore shipments. India primarily exports low-grade iron ore - with iron content below 58% and most of India's shipments go to China

Tea exports dip 1.65% during Jan to Oct 2023, reach 182.69 million kg

Tea exports from the country dipped 1.65 per cent at 182.69 million kilogramme during January to October of 2023 as compared to 185.75 million kilogramme in the same period of the previous calendar. Exports from North India during the first 10 months of calendar 2023 stood lower at 110.33 million kilogramme, registering a decline of 4.62 per cent from the preceding similar period, according to Tea Board data. Similarly, exports from South India on the contrary increased 3.25 per cent at 72.36 million kilogramme during January to October of 2023, as against 70.08 million kilogramme in the similar previous period. During calendar 2022, exports of tea stood at 231.08 million kilogramme, registering a rise of 17.57 per cent over 2021 at 196.54 million kilogramme. Sources in the tea industry said that the export scenario remains grim as shipments to Iran are in jeopardy due to the payment problem with that country. Iran traditionally imports 20 per cent of India's tea exports, but that