Port Wings Editorial: Bleeding Exports Send Warning Signals

Source: http://www.portwings.in/editorial/bleeding-exports-send-warning-signals/

Port Wings, Oct 21, 2015:

For the tenth month in a row, India’s merchandise exports and imports have recorded its steepest downward trend.

Though the message is clear and loud, and situation in exim sector is turning from bad to worse, the government machinery is still in deep slumber.

In other words, the promising words of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on different podiums both in the country as well as in overseas on ensuring better trade atmosphere, seems to be just words without corroborating actions.

More specifically, in the past six months, our exports are declining on a rate that never been expected by the market analysts and trade pundits. The latest one in September – about 25 % -- is not only shocking to the entire trade community, but also bares the promises of government is aware of the fact and taking actions.

The trade community feels let off by the Modi-led government and there has been a sense of outrage against the Government for its vision-less as well as crooked economic policies that has landed them in a pool of uncertainties.

Every other organizations, be it FIEO or other trade associations, were appealing to the authorities concerned for the past 10 months to take corrective measures and bring the confidence back among the trade. However, nothing seems to be working in favour of the Indian exporters and they are now left to fight for their own for survival in the unknown territory.

With the trade data descending into negative trajectory for the past 10 months, the Modi-led NDA Government have an onerous task of bringing back the exports in positive trajectory to make the MAKE IN INDIA project a reality.

Though the season of festival in the country has just began, the condition of exporters is worse than  traders now and the expectation is high among them that the government will take some corrective measure soon on war-footing to stop the negative trend.

If the government fails again and the same trend continues for some more months, not only the exim trade will be in doldrums but the whole country.

Moreover, the election festival will begin in April next year and the Union Government will be in a delicate position to talk on any economic reforms without performing on this front. The trade community in the country likes to see a government of action than just words at the Centre.