Trade booster: Working with Finance Ministry to ease export credit, says Suresh Prabhu

Trade booster: Working with Finance Ministry to ease export credit, says Suresh Prabhu

Export credit provided by banks fell sharply by about 51.3% to Rs 22,300 crore as of September 28 from a year earlier.

The commerce ministry is closely working with the finance ministry to ease credit flow to the export sector, commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu said on Tuesday. “One of the main challenges for export is finance. There is a decline in (export) finance, so we have taken up the issue with the finance ministry…I think, the finance minister is also looking into this (as in) how we can improve the credit flow into the export sector,” Prabhu told reporters.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Gupta has been seeking adequate credit to exporters on grounds that lack of adequate loans would crimp the growth of exports. India’s exports have been hovering around $300 billion a year since 2011-12, without substantial growth.

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Export credit provided by banks fell sharply by about 51.3% to Rs 22,300 crore as of September 28 from a year earlier. This is despite the fact that total lending to the priority-sector rose 6.6%, latest data from the Reserve Bank of India showed. Overall non-food credit witnessed a rise of 11.3% up to September 28. The persistent decline in export credit, especially to small players in the current year so far has raised fresh concerns about adequate financial support to exporters.

Prabhu called for tapping new markets, including in Africa, Latin America, East, south and west Asia, to improve exports. The logistics sector will play a key role in enhancing the competitiveness of Indian goods in the global markets. The commerce ministry has also partnered with FIEO to organise ‘Logix India’ from January 31 to February 2, 2019 here, having realised the importance of the logistics sector in boosting exports to faraway destinations. FIEO president Gupta said the event would witness delegations of over 20 countries exploring logistics partnerships with India. Over 100 international delegates are expected to attend Logix India.

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