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WTO figures bring cheer to Indian export sector

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With the World Trade Organisation projecting world trade to grow by 4.7 per cent in 2014 and a slightly faster growth at 5.3 per cent in 2015, which is a 20-year average growth rate, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations has noted that this augurs well for India’s exports. While world trade grew by 7.35 per cent on an average between 2005 and 2013, India’s exports grew by 15.66 per cent on an average in the same period, according to the FIEO. However, since India recorded only a modest growth of about 4 per cent in 2013-14, it is necessary for the trade to look at a 15 per cent increase in exports, taking it to $360 billion in 2014-15, said the FIEO chief. In the case of world trade, the growth per cent of 2014 is more than double of what was achieved in 2013 (2.2 per cent). In 2013, trade growth rate was slow due to a combination of flat import demand in developed economies and moderate import growth in developing economies. On the export side, both developed and developing economies only managed to record a small, positive increase. The trade forecast for 2014 has been upgraded to 4.7 per cent from 4.5 per cent. In 2013, Asia recorded the fastest GDP growth at 4.2 per cent, which was almost equal to growth in the previous two years. Responding to the revised forecast of increase in global trade in 2014 and in 2015, M Rafeeque Ahmed, President of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has said that projected growth in global trade is a major positive and has been a key factor in driving India’s exports. On a rough estimate, India’s exports growth has been more than doubled the global trade growth. ``We should expect a minimum of 10 per cent increase in exports in 2014,’’ said Ahmed. He added that though manufacturing had declined by 0.7 per cent in the April 2013 to February 2014 period, it needed to be promoted at all cost. ``We have to see that the share of manufacturing in GDP increases continuously to touch 25 per cent by 2020. The new Foreign Trade Policy should initiate measures for competitive manufacturing in the country, both for augmenting exports and substituting imports,’’ Ahmed added. Incidentally, in 2013, exports of Asia grew faster than any other region, with a 4.6 per cent rise, followed by North America and Europe. However, India suffered a sharp drop of 2.9 per cent in its imports, due to its economic slowdown. Exports of India also fell short of the target of $325 billion in 2013-14, and touched $312 billion. However, since India’s exports recorded a modest growth of about 4 per cent in 2013-14, a 15 per cent increase in overseas shipments to $360 billion should be targeted for 2014-15, he said.

Exports likely to grow at least 10 per cent in 2014: FIEO

India’s exports are likely to grow by at least 10 percent in 2014, exporters body FIEO said on April 15, basing its forecast on the WTO’s projections of global trade. “On a rough estimate, India’s export growth has been more than double the global trade growth and thus we should expect a minimum of 10 per cent increase in exports in 2014,” Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Rafeeque Ahmed said. Global trade is projected to recover and grow by 4.7 per cent in 2014, more than double of what was achieved in 2013, the World Trade Organization said yesterday. The growth is projected to be slightly faster at 5.3 per cent in 2015, which is also the 20-year average. Ahmed said between 2005 and 2013, world trade grew by 7.35 per cent on an average, while India’s exports jumped by 15.66 per cent on an average during this period.  However, since India’s exports recorded a modest growth of about 4 per cent in 2013-14, a 15 per cent increase in overseas shipments to $360 billion should be targeted for 2014-15, he said.

eBay aims to create the world’s largest trader base in India

In a move to create the world’s largest trader base, online marketplace eBay has tied up with traders body CAIT to encourage small retailers for selling products through its platform. eBay and confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which is associated with over 20,000 small trader associations in the country, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the education and modernisation of Indian traders with the establishment of an ecommerce centre of excellence (COE). “The nationwide campaign, to be jointly launched by CAIT and eBay, will enable Indian traders for retail exports through our platform to 201 countries and to 4,306 locations in India,” eBay Managing Director Latif Nathani said on April 17. eBay, one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, has about 25 million traders globally and around 45,000 in India. When asked if this step will help the company in making its domestic trader base surpass its global trader count, Nathani said: “It is a huge opportunity and we are very excited about the opportunity.“   He added that CAIT is an excellent partner with its large base of 60 million traders conducting business activities in retail trade in India. “This MoU signals the beginning of a multi-year relationship and will add a new era to modernising the retail trade of India, which is the need of the hour,” Nathani said. CAIT National Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said the strategy of providing education and awareness among the trading community will result into an effective e-commerce marketplace to our member traders to extend their customer base beyond their city. “eBay India is investing in training our members to set up a successful e-commerce store via the COE within the CAIT retail school,” he added. Source: Press Trust of India

Corporate America committed to long-term investment in India

Corporate America has reaffirmed US companies’ commitment to India’s growth and focus on reviving investor sentiment and cross-border collaboration in the first year after India’s elections. The US-India Business Council (USIBC), comprised of more than 350 of the top-tier US and Indian companies, made the reaffirmation at a meeting in New York on April 14 with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Raghuram Rajan. The private meeting was attended by top executives from global financial services companies and institutional investors, USIBC said. They included industry heavyweights like KKR Co-Chairman Henry Kravis, Harold “Terry” McGraw, Chairman, McGraw Hill Financial. It was chaired by Charles “Chip” Kaye, Co-CEO of leading private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The industry representatives heard from Rajan the challenges RBI faces in taming inflation while promoting the growth necessary to keep the engine of India’s economy thriving, all in the midst of factors beyond the respected institution’s control, USIBC said. USIBC members noted their strong support for RBI’s financial sector reforms including actions to further deepen India’s debt capital markets toward long-term infrastructure development and manage risk, it said. In addition to continued banking reforms, the contributions of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) to the real economy - including those wholly-owned by foreign direct investment (FDI) - were raised. USIBC said it also discussed with Rajan the importance of a vibrant payments industry with competition and dialogue spurring further innovations in mobile banking, prepaid, and cash transfer remittances for SME businesses and individuals.

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This newsletter is compilation of news articles from various business-e-newspapers and in no way is an endorsement or reflection of Embassy of India, Berne views.