Merchandise exports on an all-time high, says FIEO

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 17

Reacting to the overall merchandise export figures for the fiscal year 2018-19, Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO), said the exports registered an all-time high of USD 331 billion for the fiscal (from the previous best of USD 314.4 billion recorded in 2013-14) with a growth of 9.06 per cent as against the last fiscal. The export performance is all the more remarkable as it was recorded when the global growth is crumbling.

The major growth drivers were electronic goods, plastics and linoleum, petroleum, engineering goods, organic and inorganic chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals and cotton yarn/fabs/made-ups, handloom products. With services sector exports also expected to cross USD 204 billion with a growth of 6.26 percent in the fiscal year 2018-19, the overall exports crossed well over half-a-trillion dollar during the fiscal year.

FIEO President also hailed the dedicated and hard work put in by the exporting community, which led to such an impressive growth despite major challenges including protectionism, tough global conditions and constraints on the domestic front. Gupta added that the healthy growth in exports had come at a time even when the World Trade Organisation has cut global trade forecast to 2.6 per cent in 2019 from 3 per cent in 2018 and global trade contracted in the first quarter of 2019.

Merchandise exports for the month of March also touched an all time high of about USD 33 billion with a growth of 11.02 per cent, the highest in any month so far.