New Delhi: Santosh Sarangi, Director General Foreign Trade (DGFT) is happy over growth of exports from India. Shri Sarangi observes that the latest Economic Survey notes that the total exports (merchandise and services) registered a steady growth of 6 percent in the first nine months of Financial Year 2024-25.
Growth in services and goods exports, excluding petroleum and gems and jewellery, was 10.4 per cent. This indicates that Indian manufacturing, agriculture and services exports were able to compete with global competition. Total imports during the same period registered a growth of 6.9 per cent.
India’s external sector continues to display resilience amidst global headwinds of economic and trade policy uncertainties, states the Economic Survey 2024-25 tabled in the Parliament today by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman.
Disruptions in global trade due to Red Sea crisis, Ukraine war and recent drought in the Panama Canal, allied with increased protectionist tendencies shown by many countries, have created uncertainties. The number of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) that restrict international trade have also increased over the last few years.
The Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) affect 31.6 per cent of the product lines, covering 67.1 per cent of the global trade as of December 2024. This is followed by export-related measures, affecting 19.3 per cent of the product lines and covering 31.2 per cent of the global trade. Sectors most affected by NTMs include agriculture, manufacturing, and natural resources.
The Survey notes that India requires to assess the situation and develop a forward looking strategic trade roadmap that leverages its strengths. India is in a process of negotiating a number of Free Trade Agreements with countries and trading blocks.
For example, in the textile sector, the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) (2022) has helped reduce India’s textile tariffs with a significant market. India is actively working towards negotiating trade deals with top importers such as the EU and the UK.
The Survey notes that India is also adopting the strategy to diversify its export basket and target new markets.