New Delhi: Speaking at an interactive session on Wednesday, Commerce & Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, said that in order to achieve the target of USD 5 trillion economy India's exports will have to contribute at least USD one trillion. Goyal urged manufacturers and exporters to come forward with data and details which directly and indirectly add to the cost of the products that are being exported like cess paid on coal, electricity and royalty paid on mines. All this adds up to the cost of the export product per unit basis, he added. Commerce and Industry Minister said that the Ministry is working on making India's export products competitive and simplifying rules and regulations for easy availability of export credit.
Goyal urged the EXIM community to flag issues regarding availability of land, labour, common effluent treatment plants, cluster development and logistics support required in ports, airports and customs to the Ministry so that it is able to iron out the issues impeding India's exports and facilitate the exporters to take maximum benefit from the tariff escalation between the US and China.
The Department of Commerce took the initiative to identify and share with Indian exporters and other stakeholders, specific lines where the US would lose competitiveness in China and India has export potential and encouraged them to seize this opportunity. Several B2B meetings with Chinese buyers were facilitated through the Indian Embassy in Beijing in addition to inviting Chinese grape buyers to visit Indian grape farms and related units, under the aegis of APEDA.
A section of the industry has opined that some of the conditions like requirements of local experience are limiting their participation in the Chinese procurement process. Government of India has been engaging with the relevant Chinese government entities to ensure that Indian companies get market access for their products. Such issues are also discussed in the bilateral meetings from time to time to find solutions to any such restrictions in market access.
Government of India has been taking continuous and sustained steps to bridge the trade deficit by lowering trade barriers for Indian exports to China. During the 11th session of India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations(JEG) held in New Delhi on March 26, 2018, the two countries agreed to increase bilateral trade in a more balanced and sustainable manner. In this regard, various meetings have been held at the official level with Chinese counterparts as a part of ongoing efforts, to obtain market access for various Indian agricultural, dairy, and pharmaceutical products in light of the potential of these products in the Chinese market. Various protocols have been signed to facilitate the export of Indian rice, rapeseed meal, tobacco and fishmeal/fish oil, chilli meal, from India to China.