Continuing appreciation of the rupee against the dollar over the last few days is evoking mixed reaction from different segments of society.
While a section of knitwear exporters is appealing for Reserve Bank of India’s immediate intervention to “limit” the rupee’s rise against the dollar so as to obtain better unit value from the exports, the importers of various goods/machinery, who include the entrepreneurs in apparel business too, wanted the rupee to appreciate further so that imports could become cheaper.
The common man, who have been crying hoarse over the rising fuel prices that resulted not only in the increase in the cost of transportation but also skyrocketed overall inflation, too are cheerful over the rupee’s appreciation against the dollar as the burden of under-recoveries for oil companies would ease and fuel prices could get reduced subsequently.
Meanwhile, the technocrats wanted the RBI and other agencies not to act in haste at this juncture considering that the balance of payment in the country still remains in the negative side.
“The RBI should opt for a balanced approach taking into consideration the nation’s overall interest taking both the views of exporters and importers,” S. Dhananjayan, chartered accountant and industry consultant here, opined.
TEA Representing the garment exporters’ views, the Tirupur Exporters Association had written to RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan pointing out that the continuing appreciation of the rupee against the dollar could result in the export sector losing competitiveness and affect the growth of the apparel segment. `
