Exporters must sell value-added products if India's exports should hit $ 300 billion-mark by the end of this financial year and $ 500 billion in two years, said Anup K. Pujari, Director General Foreign Trade (DGFT), Union Ministry of Commerce, here on Monday.
He was speaking at a question and answer session at ‘Karnataka: Export Vision-2020,' a convention of exporters organised by the Southern Region of Federation of Indian Export Organisations.
Mr. Pujari said there could be three ways in which exports could be increased — by increasing port capacity, (which was not possible immediately), by increasing efficiency, and by exporting value-added products to new markets. He said that instead of yarn, fashion garments could be exported.
Rafeeque Ahmad, president, FIEO, said that for exports to move up the value chain requires faster transport and clearances. While exporting traditional commodities could afford a time of two months and a further delay of a fortnight, clusters must be very active to reach consumers quickly. He said exporters should identify clusters or combine two to three places into a cluster (so that they can send products together to containers and get clearances faster from the Ministry of Commerce).
Ajay Sahay said the Ministry of Commerce was studying clusters of exporters and their proximity to ports. The Government was looking at 70 clusters and their connectivity to ports and airports. The report would be ready by March 31, he said. In Chennai, despite units being close to the port, export products were going to ports other than Chennai, he said.
Earlier, inaugurating the convention, Mr. Ahmad said that if India had to increase exports to $ 500 billion by 2014, the Centre and the States must work together and States should think of exports as priority. States should not levy taxes on imports used in (production of goods meant for) exports. Exports should be treated as a public utility to avoid flash strikes (within export units), he said.
The concerns for exporters in Karnataka were a deficit of power and power quality, need for an air cargo complex with a cold chain in Mangalore, exports going through Chennai, which had a congested port, and lack of infrastructure.
Capacity building
M. Veerappa Moily, Minister for Corporate Affairs, said that if India had to reach a share of 4 per cent of global trade by 2020, that is $ 2,480 billion, it would require massive capacity building in infrastructure and human resources. India's merchandise exports might fall short of the target of $ 300 billion set for 2011-12, he said. If companies in the U.S. and European Union reduced their IT budgets, it might affect prospects for India's software exports, he said.
Mr. Moily said that each district should have a research and development cell for exports, which should work on innovating exports. He said that Karnataka ranked lowest in the development of infrastructure among Southern States.
Speaking about the export potential of Mangalore, he said the city would be the gateway and the second commercial capital of India after Mumbai.
