India’s goods exports is likely to be just 8-10 per cent lower in financial year 2020-21 compared to the previous fiscal while services exports, barring hospitality and tourism, too, may show not more than a 10 per cent dip, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.
This will translate into goods exports probably crossing $280 billion in 2020-21 compared to $ 314 billion in 2019-20.
“We will be almost getting back to the level of trade in goods of last year and have probably a 8-10 per cent shortage,” the Minister said at the India Services Conclave organised by industry body CII on Tuesday.
Containers’ supply
Given the ramification of the pandemic globally, the fact that parts of the world are still in lockdown, containers are in short supply and shipping freight is high, this is a commendable achievement, Goyal said. He added that Indian exporters have honoured their commitments made to the world despite the harsh circumstances.
“... this shows everybody that India is a trusted partner and is ready to pick up the gauntlet in the most severe of circumstances,” he said.
In the area of services, the Minister pointed out that except tourism and hospitality, which were casualties worldwide due to lockdowns and travel restrictions, all the other sectors have shown great resilience.
Services exports
“Other than tourism and hospitality, we will probably close the year with 90 per cent of services exports compared to last year,” he said. In 2019-20, India’s total services exports were valued at $214.61 billion.
Goyal said that India’s digital ecosystem was valued at around $200 billion and India’s ambition was to grow five times and touch a trillion dollars. Since India has a comparative advantage in the area, it will be possible to achieve the $800-1,000 billion mark very quickly, he said.
India’s exports in April-February 2020-21 at $256.18 billion are 12.23 per cent lower than exports in the same period last year, per data released by the Commerce Department. Services exports from the country in the April-February 2020-21 period estimated at $183.46 billion is about 7 per cent lower compared to the previous fiscal.