In keeping with the trend seen in March and April,exports once again fell 30 per cent in May over the corresponding month last year,commerce secretary GK Pillai revealed today. Exports have been contracting by more than 30 per cent since March when they fell 33.3 per cent the sharpest drop in about 15 years. Official trade data issued just two days ago showed that exports plunged 33.2 per cent in April as well. The May exports figure,however,is based on the initial flash figures available with the commerce department. The official figure for May will be released only in the first week of July. To hear out the grievances of the exporter community,newly appointed commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma today held a meeting with representatives from the various sectoral export promotion councils and the president of the Federation of Indian Exporter Organisation (FIEO). Addressing the media later,Sharma said the commerce ministry would take up the case of the export sector before the finance ministry and lobby for its troubles to be taken into consideration in the upcoming Budget. We are now looking at other areas where stimulus can be provided apart from what weve already done under the previous packages, said Sharma. We will discuss these issues with the finance ministry and make a special recommendation for their consideration in the Union Budget. Commenting on the availability of credit with the export sector,he added that there was a case for further reduction in interest rates by both the Reserve Bank of India as well as commercial banks. The foreign trade policy,which will be announced by Sharma only after the Budget in August,will also make special provisions for labour-intensive export sectors such as textiles,leather,gems and jewellery,and plantations,Sharma promised. He added that the ministry would constantly keep reviewing the situation and come up with more sector-specific measures and packages over the coming months that might be aimed at reducing production costs and thus improving the competitiveness of Indian exports. Issues such as reduction in transaction costs for exporters were likely to come up in the foreign trade policy,he added. As for worsening trade figures,Sharma said though there had been some recovery in certain segments,there was still some shortfall in some. Echoing the commerce secretarys statement,he added that exports were likely to keep falling till about September. Sharma said he would hold more meetings with various industry associations on June 11.
