India targets emerging markets to offset export slide
Friday, 28 August 2009
NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (AFP): India plans to boost trade with emerging markets in Africa and South America to offset a slide in exports to recession-hit developed nations, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said Thursday.
He said the country was aiming for growth of 15 percent over two years to achieve exports of 200 billion dollars by March 2011, up from 168 billion dollars in March 2009.
"Our exports have suffered a decline in the last 10 months due to a contraction in demand in the traditional (developed) export markets," said Sharma.
"We've taken a conscious view to expand and diversify our export markets, especially in the emerging markets" such as Africa and Latin America, he told reporters as he released the government's five-year trade policy to 2014.
India's biggest exports include textiles, handicrafts and leather goods.
The government had originally set an export target of 200 billion dollars for the current year to March 2010 but had said earlier it was unlikely to meet the goal.
Sharma would not give a new figure for the current year, saying only that he hoped to "sustain" exports through cheaper loans, improvement in export-related infrastructure and lowering of transaction costs.
"I will not hazard a number," said Sharma, noting India was framing its export policy against "the backdrop of an unprecedented (global) economic slowdown."
But he said that during the final three years of the trade policy, he hoped India would return to its high export growth path of around 25 percent a year.
"By 2014, we expect to double India's exports of goods and services. The long-term policy of the government is to double India's share in global trade by 2020," he said.
India's current share of global trade in goods and services stands at 1.64 percent.
He said the country was aiming for growth of 15 percent over two years to achieve exports of 200 billion dollars by March 2011, up from 168 billion dollars in March 2009.
"Our exports have suffered a decline in the last 10 months due to a contraction in demand in the traditional (developed) export markets," said Sharma.
"We've taken a conscious view to expand and diversify our export markets, especially in the emerging markets" such as Africa and Latin America, he told reporters as he released the government's five-year trade policy to 2014.
India's biggest exports include textiles, handicrafts and leather goods.
The government had originally set an export target of 200 billion dollars for the current year to March 2010 but had said earlier it was unlikely to meet the goal.
Sharma would not give a new figure for the current year, saying only that he hoped to "sustain" exports through cheaper loans, improvement in export-related infrastructure and lowering of transaction costs.
"I will not hazard a number," said Sharma, noting India was framing its export policy against "the backdrop of an unprecedented (global) economic slowdown."
But he said that during the final three years of the trade policy, he hoped India would return to its high export growth path of around 25 percent a year.
"By 2014, we expect to double India's exports of goods and services. The long-term policy of the government is to double India's share in global trade by 2020," he said.
India's current share of global trade in goods and services stands at 1.64 percent.