16.12.09

Exports up 18% in November


The good news just keeps rolling to reassure that the economic rebound is no flash in the pan, not withstanding soaring food prices. After 13 consecutive months of going downhill, India’s merchandise shipments have posted a growth of over 18% at $13.2 billion in November. The news comes weeks after the economy trumped market expectations by posting a near-8% year-on-year growth in the second quarter. Coinciding with the latest figures, commerce minister Anand Sharma told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday the government expected the position to improve in the coming months and exports would grow at 15% next year despite global recession. But it might still be a little early to pop the champagne and the government prefers to watch it for a while. “There is no great shift in demand, it (growth) is because of base effect,’’ commerce secretary Rahul Khullar told reporters. An indication of the reversal in downtrend came in October when exports dropped just 6.6% at $13.19 billion, the slowest pace of fall in the previous 10 months. Merchandise shipments had declined 39% in May as the economic crisis bit hard. Exports have been going downhill for the last 13 months since the economic crisis hit economies around the world. The pace of that fall has been showing signs of slowing in the last 2-3 months. Exporters, naturally, are happy but also getting worried over the government and the RBI withdrawing the incentives that were extended to them in the wake of the economic crisis hitting global markets. According to Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president A Sakthivel, the turnaround is an “indication of exporters’ resilience and positive impact of the stimulus extended by the government’’.

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