India's exports likely to reach $450 bn in 2024 despite Red Sea-linked disruptions
The country's merchandise exports are expected to reach $450 billion by the end of this fiscal year despite geo-political challenges including the Red Sea crisis, said Ashwani Kumar, the newly elected president of the apex exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO). The need of the hour is to address the Red Sea crisis challenges by ensuring the availability of marine insurance and a rational increase in freight charges, he added.
Kumar said the exporting sector, particularly MSMEs, needs easy and low-cost credit, and marketing support to boost the country's exports, adding early conclusion of free trade agreements such as with the UK and Oman will also help push the outbound shipments. MSMEs will play a crucial role in achieving the $1 trillion goods export target by 2030, according to Kumar.
During April-February 2023-24, exports reached $395 billion. "This was an impressive increase despite the Red Sea crisis, tight monetary stance by the developed world and falling commodity prices. This reflects the resilience of the exporting community, who have continuously been braving such odds since the Russia-Ukraine war," he said.
