Services export up at $12.89 bn in March

Source: Financial Express, May 15, 2012

Mumbai: India’s services exports increased to USD 12.89 billion in March this year compared with USD 11.23 billion in the previous month.

The services sector, according to the Reserve Bank data released today, has been doing well since January when its exports stood at USD 11.03 billion.

The total export of services during first three months of 2012 (January-March) works out to be USD 35.14 billion.

The data further reveals that import of services during March 2012 was USD 9.08 billion, up from USD 6.75 billion in the previous month.

The import of services during the three-month period was USD 23.16 billion.

The export of services during April-December, 2011-12, stood at USD 102 billion as compared to USD 96.4 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The import of services, however, came down to USD 58 billion in April-December of 2011-12 from USD 62.3 billion during the nine-month period of the previous fiscal.

John McCain for free trade agreement with India

Source: The Economic Times, May 15, 2012

WASHINGTON: Senior Republican Senator John McCain on Monday made a strong pitch for a free trade agreement with India, as he slammed the Obama administration for failing to aggressively tap America’s trade potential with Asian nations.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think-tank, the lawamker said the US should have aimed for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, and emphasised that America’s long-term strategic and economic success requires an ambitious trade strategy in Asia.

India’s trade deficit lowest in 12 months

Source: Financial Express, May 10, 2012

New Delhi: Hit by slowdown in the western markets, India’s export growth dropped to 3.2 per cent in April, but a sharp deceleration in import expansion resulted in trade deficit narrowing to USD 13.2 billion, the lowest in a year.

The drop in the balance of trade (BoT) should reduce pressure on the rupee which has lost value by about 15 per cent against the US dollar since September, 2011.

Exports in April, the first month of the fiscal 2012-13 amounted to USD 24.5 billion, as per the provisional figures released by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar here today.

Foreign trade policy in early June to have sops for select sectors

Source: The Economic Times, May 11, 2012

NEW DELHI: The foreign trade policy for the on-going fiscal will be announced in the first week of June and is likely to have sops for sectors that need support to tide through the demand slowdown in the global market.

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma has said that he will carry out a stock-taking exercise with all export promotion councils on May 17 following which a decision on government intervention in specific sectors will be taken.

“After the stock taking exercise is complete, the government will intervene in sectors which require support,” Sharma said in a press statement, adding that the foreign trade policy or FTP for the year will be announced in the first week of June.

The minsiter said the uncertainty in the EU zone was making things hard for India’s exporters which was now getting reflected in the export numbers. “The slow down in export growth in April in the backdrop of the economic crisis in the Euro Zone is also a worrisome development,” Sharma said.

New procedure by DGFT to speed up cotton exports

Source: Business standard, May 09, 2012

Mumbai: To speed applications from interested cotton exporters, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce, has modified the procedure for obtaining registration certifications (RCs).

As against the earlier procedure of personal visits to the respective departments dealing in RCs, DGFT has mandated sending of all documents and associated papers through an e-mail. The purpose is to keep queries, if any, ready by the time an exporter sends hard copy of the applications and other relevant papers.

Bid to bridge widening export-import gap; exports sops may come back

Source: The Economic Times, May 09, 2012

NEW DELHI: Two months ago, with fiscal consolidation on his mind, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee scratched out export subsidies from his budget. Today, worried by a widening gap between imports and exports, the government is thinking of bringing back sops for exporters.

These subsidies are likely to include discounted interest rates, and product- and market-linked incentives. The government believes these could boost exports and help narrow a trade deficit which has expanded to 9% of GDP.

FM removes draconian powers on excise, customs duty cases

Source: Business standard, May 08, 2012

New Delhi: Buckling under pressure from various quarters, the government on Monday withdrew the harsh provisions relating to excise and customs duty evasion cases. In Finance Bill 2012-13, it had earlier proposed to make certain excise and customs duty evasion cases non-bailable until the court had heard the public prosecutor.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday withdrew these provisions, which many members of Parliament had termed draconian and similar to those under the old Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act.

Exports unlikely to touch $350 b this year

Source: The Hindu Business Line, May 08, 2012

New Delhi: India is unlikely to maintain 21 per cent export growth this fiscal and may find it difficult to meet overseas shipment target against the backdrop of continuing Euro Zone debt crisis, the Federation of Indian Export Organisation has said.

The country’s shipments this year may not even touch $350 billion and the Government’s target of $500 billion by 2014-15 too looks impossible because of the present global challenges, the FIEO President, Mr M. Rafeeq Ahmed, said.

Economic pact with Japan to boost Indian SMEs, says trade body

Source: The Economic Times, May 08, 2012

AHMEDABAD: Trade promotion body EEPC India today said the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between India and Japan has opened new trade avenues and provides an opportunity for the SMEs of the country to evolve their products and technology.

After signing of CEPA in August 2011, Japan, world’s 7th largest importer of engineering goods, has eliminated tariff (customs duty) on 87 per cent of its total products.

Iran emerges as major oil meal export destination for India

Source: Business standard, May 07, 2012

Mumbai/Ahmedabad: The sanction-stricken Iran is silently emerging as India’s biggest destination for oil meal exports. As per the latest figures issued by the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India, Iran imported 97,904 tonnes of oil meals in April 2012 compared to 50,022 tonnes in April 2011, up by 95.72 per cent making it the largest importer of oil meals from India during the month.

Industry insiders attribute this sharp growth in Iran’s oil meal imports from India as a fall out of the trade embargo put on the country by Europe and the US for its alleged nuclear proliferation programme.