Flowers are used on a large scale for religious rituals, celebrations, party decorations, gifting, extractions for fragrance and aromatherapy, for herbal and medicinal purposes too. The demand for ornamental flowers is on the rise as people are spending a good amount on improving aesthetic value. There is a huge scope for exporting flowers too as the demand in the global international market is increasing. Indian farmers must see floriculture as an important agricultural activity that can enhance their remuneration significantly . Government schemes can be used by farmers to build the required infrastructure to grow flowers with higher returns and even to process and export them.

 

The value of the global floriculture market was USD 49 billion in 2020, and with an annual growth rate of 6 percent, it is expected to reach USD 70 billion by 2026. More than 90 percent of demand comes from the developed countries in Europe, America and Asia. Indiahas exported 15,695.31 MT of floriculture products to the world,which is worth 77.84 USD Million (Rs. 575.98 Crores) in 2020-21.Increasingly, Indian farmers are exporting flowers, especially roses that meet international standards. Floriculture is market-driven and a specialised agro-industry. India can produce almost all varieties of exotic flowers due to the different agro-climatic zones and it makes a conducive environment for the cultivation of sensitive and delicate floriculture products.Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu , Rajasthan , West Bengal have emerged as major floriculture centers in India.

 

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) too has asserted that floriculture has the potential to double farm income. In India, a majority of farmers are small and marginal, which means they do not hold land more than five acres. The small landholding is not considered good for agriculture production. However, it comes as an advantage for floriculture due to its low volume high value character. Besides the diverse and adequately favourable climatic conditions, India has a few more advantages over other countries. Labouris cheaper and cost of production is also low.

 

Floriculture is a labour-intensive industry and can be a great tool to create employment opportunities for the rural population. As it is environment-friendly with zero pollution, it can help develop the local rural economy and also offer high chances of earning foreign exchange through exports. In addition, production of flower seeds, creation of new ornamentals flowers like cut flowers and pot plants can help in additional earnings.

 

There have been serious efforts by the government to improve the floriculture sector. It has allowed 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in floriculture.FDI helps in forging international collaborations, joint ventures, facilitate the introduction of modern technology and infrastructure in the country. Moreover, subsidies are given on air-freight for the export of cut-flowers and to set up supply chain infrastructures such as cold storages, pre-cooling units, refrigerated vans, greenhouses and packaging material. Institutions like the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) are coming up with schemes to encourage farmers to go for floriculture and to create a conducive environment for exports by identifying key agri-export zones.

 

Some farmers in India have adopted floriculture in poly-houses, and they are earning up to Rs 1 lakh per month. Poly-houses can help farmers grow any variety of flowers irrespective of local weather, season pattern and climatic conditions. Farmers can avail benefits of up to 85 percent subsidy on poly-houses to switch to the high-return business of floriculture. There can be skill-learning for growing ornamental flower and pot plants, and even for the cultivation of dry flower cultivation to create products like cards, wall pieces, table decoration pieces, potpourri. Floriculture assures better income at the production stage as well as at the post-harvest processing stage. Indian farmers must reap the benefits of the booming floriculture industry.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb laid the foundation stone for the Kamalpur Border Haat in Dhalai district on Thursday in presence of Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi.

 

Speaking at the programme, Deb said there were attempts to disrupt the bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh in the past but those were foiled because of strong leadership in the two countries.

 

Deb said partition had adversely affected Tripura’s access to waterways and ports but Bangladesh allowing India to use Chittagong port in 2019 was a major boost for the Northeast.

 

'It was Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who had given permission of using Chittagong port for the entire Northeast region in 2019,' he said.

 

'We had to travel 1,600 km to reach Haldia port in West Bengal. With the signing of the Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) for Chittagong port, one needs to travel only 67 km to reach Chittagong port from Maitri Setu in South Tripura’s Sabroom subdivision,' Deb added.

 

The border haat will not only enhance trade but also have a positive impact on the cultural relations between the two sides of the border, he said.

 

Munshi said Bangladesh will never forget that Tripura had opened its borders for 14 lakh people during the 1971 liberation war.

 

'The people of Tripura stood behind us during the 1971 war and gave every help they could offer,' he recounted.

 

'Bangladesh PM Hasina wants to take Indo-Bangla bilateral ties to a new height. We want more border haats, which will boost cultural ties alongside trade,' Munshi said.

 

The Bangladesh minister also promised to increase the number of items to be sold at the border haats in order to make it more attractive for the people living near the border.

 

Bangladesh MP Md Abdus Shahid and Indian envoy to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami were also present at the programme. 

The All India Wine Producers Association (AIWPA), an apex body of wineries in India, having more than 70 members, including all the major Indian wineries and wine producers, had proposed to State Government and has succeeded in getting passed a landmark rule to permit sales of wines in walk-in supermarkets.

 

The main cause behind this was to increase the reach of wine in Maharashtra, resulting in an increased consumption of domestic wines.

 

Increased production and consumption of wines will significantly boost the income of Maharashtra farmers. It is noteworthy to say that grapes for wines give the highest realisation to farmers, between Rs 40 to 80 per litre consumed, beer at Rs 12 and spirit at Rs 4 (13% v/v equivalent in all cases) other beverages.

 

This development for the wine industry will have a huge impact on the overall region and will play a major role in rural development and employment in rural and semi urban Maharashtra.

 

Maharashtra can also realise a huge untapped area of revenue in ‘Wine Tourism' which will become a dollar industry given the right environment. International study has also shown that wine consumed in moderation is the least harmful of all alcoholic beverages and is in fact beneficial to health.

 

India has the potential to be a major fruit wine producer with enormous export potential as many Indian wines have won International awards and have brought pride to India. Fruits are grown in every state in India and each state can have its own local wine industry. Fruits such as Jamun, Pineapple, Chikoo, Strawberry, Mango, Cashew apple, kiwi, honey, can also be used to produce wine.

 

To promote ‘fruit wine' production the AIWPA has visited five states in the last few months Delhi, UP, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Kerala and have explained the benefits of fruit wine to the respective state governments, which will result in generating employment and revenue locally. All these states are now recognise this potential and are in the process of releasing friendly wine policies.

 

AIWPA cleared the air on ‘walk in' large format supermarkets of a minimum 100 sq mts (about a 1,000 sq ft to the least), will be permitted to apply for the E4 shelf-in-shop wine licence. Kirana stores will not be permitted to apply as they are not walk-in stores. Study has shown that women have a pleasant shopping experience in supermarkets while purchasing wine as compared to wine shops.

 

Based on data available to AIWPA only 600 walk in supermarkets throughout Maharashtra are eligible to apply, even here maximum area of 2.25 cubic metres can be dedicated to lockable wine shelves, which will be off limits on dry days. The standard distance rule from places of worship and educational institutions will be maintained just as in the case of other liquor retail shops, before the licences are issued.

 

Wine in walk in super markets exists in Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi (till November 2019). Maharashtra will benefit with this move as currently wine is only 1% of alcobev sales in Maharashtra, at only 75 lakh litres per year. The impact of this rule will help small wineries too as they will now have access to the discerning consumers.

As 2023 has been announced as the International Year of Millets, India’s agri export promotion body, APEDA, wants to expand the country’s export footprint in 100 countries from current 50 countries, in the next two years. Besides, it is working on strategies to boost overall agriculture products’ exports in countries other than top buyers.

 

'Currently, our products are going to about 190 countries from about 150 countries a decade agob The challenge is to improve the volume in other than the top 10 countries while sustaining tgrowth in major buying nations,' said M Angamuthu, chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

 

The world’s millets market is estimated to grow to over $12 billion by 2025 from the current $9 billion.

 

Although India’s shares in the production of millets is around 41 per cent with an annual output of about 12 million tonnes (mt), the country’s exports were 87,558 tonnes in 2020-21, up by 16.32 per cent from 75,274 tonnes in the previous year. The bulk of India’s exports – as much as 60 per cent – go to Nepal, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The share of top ten countries in the total volume is 87 per cent.

 

In the top millets importing countries like Indonesia, Belgium, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Italy and Brazil, India’s presence is nearly zero, and these markets can be tapped with higher focus, trade sources said. While Millets, both as raw materials and in the form of value-added products, should be exported, the Centre should roll out an export-centric production incentive in partnership with State governments, an exporter said, as it would also help in crop diversification.

 

According to ITC Trade Map, India dropped to the fifth position in global trade as its export fell to $26.73 million in 2020 from $30.82 million in 2019, while Ukraine moved to fourth position with $29.79 million. But, there is a big gap between India and the US, which is at number two with $ 58.15 million exports. Canada is top exporter with shipments valued at $ 93.16 million.

 

During the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, 'Support will be provided for post-harvest value addition, enhancing domestic consumption, and for branding millet products nationally and internationally.'

 

Angamuthu said APEDA has already signed an MoU with Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR) for export oriented production of millets and for making a strategy for their promotion in the international market. It has organised many virtual buyer-seller meetings where officials of Indian embassies were also present during this pandemic.

 

With an increasing demand for gluten-free food products across the globe, particularly after the pandemic, millets have found place in the kitchen as a preferred items because they contain calcium, iron and fibers which help fortify essential nutrients in children.

Bangladesh's state grains buyer has issued an international tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat, traders said on Wednesday.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers is Feb. 14, they said.

 

Bangladesh has issued a series of wheat and rice tenders in recent months. The country is importing grains to bolster reserves after extreme weather, from floods to heatwaves, damaged crops.

 

Price offers in the latest wheat tender are sought on CIF liner out terms, which include ship unloading costs for the seller.

 

The shipment is sought 40 days after the date of contract signing. The wheat can be sourced from any worldwide origins except Israel and is sought for shipment to two ports, Chattogram and Mongla.

The new law for special economic zones (SEZs) will comply with the global trade rules of the WTO and it will have a single-window clearance system besides world-class infrastructure and easy customs procedures, Commerce Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam said on Wednesday.

 

The government on Tuesday proposed to replace the existing law governing SEZs with a new legislation to enable states to become partners in the 'Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs' (DESH).

 

The existing SEZ Act was enacted in 2006 with an aim to create export hubs and boost manufacturing in the country. However, these zones started losing their sheen after the imposition of a minimum alternate tax and the introduction of a sunset clause for the removal of tax incentives.

 

Explaining the rationale behind the new law, the secretary said India needs large industrial manufacturing zones, which have world-class infrastructure so that those places become manufacturing hubs of the future.

 

'We are in the process of drafting a SEZ 2.0... We will recast the SEZ Act in the next couple of months.

 

'This new Act will lead to the revival of activities in SEZ areas. They will be manufacturing for both international and domestic markets,' he told reporters, adding that in the next few months, contours of the new law will be ready.

 

'The new SEZ Act will be WTO-compliant and will have a single window (clearance system). High-class infrastructure will be there and more benefits will be there,' he said.

 

A dispute settlement panel of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO) in its report on October 31, 2019, has ruled that India's export-related schemes (including SEZ scheme) are in the nature of prohibited subsidies under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and are inconsistent with WTO norms.

 

India has appealed at the WTO's appellate body against this ruling.

 

Currently, SEZs account for about 20 per cent of India's total merchandise exports. Originally, SEZs came up to take advantage of tax benefits but after the imposition of the sunset clause, those incentives are no longer there for the past two years to any new units.

 

'So, there is a need to move beyond SEZ Act,' Subrahmanyam said, adding that the Centre will partner with states so that they become part of DESH.

 

Giving hint about provisions that could become part of the new law, he said there can be a single-window clearance system for both central- and state-level clearances and for that, 'we may even think of putting states on the approval bodies either at state or regional level'.

 

He also informed that today, about 20,000 hectares of SEZ land and about 10 crore sq feet of built-up area is vacant in SEZs.

 

Some other issues raised by the industry about SEZs include the matter of payments. Payments for goods sold from SEZ to the domestic market are made in the rupee but for services, it is in dollars. Products sold from SEZ in the domestic market attract customs duties.

 

Talking about the Budget, the secretary said several measures are announced for the export sector.

 

About the gems and jewellery sector, he said import duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones to five per cent and zero on sawn (or raw) diamond will help make India jewellery hub of the world.

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of small-value jewellery is traded on e-commerce, a lot of these orders are happening online. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made it clear that in the next couple of months, by June, the government will come out with easy e-commerce rules for gems and jewellery business, he said.

 

He also said that exemptions are being provided on items such as embellishment, trimming, fasteners, buttons, zipper, lining material, specified leather, furniture fittings and packaging boxes that may be needed by bonafide exporters of handicrafts, textiles and leather garments, leather footwear and other goods.

 

Explaining it, he said some big companies in the US or Europe specify about the kind of buttons or threads they want in their clothes and for that, Indian exporters have to import these goods, which were earlier subjected to duty and now these items have been exempted.

 

A lot of customs duties on chemicals have been reduced and that will enable exports, he said adding customs duties has also been rationalised for the electronics sector and this move would boost domestic manufacturing.

 

'I think there is a fair amount of understanding between commerce and finance (ministries) that actually reducing tariffs on inputs helps exports a lot. So, having a very high tariff regime does not help and I think that message is coming through very clearly in the Budget,' the secretary said.

An ancient Chinese royal food - black rice - has made its way to Pakistan and it has the potential to fetch three times greater export revenue for the country. These are the views of a grower, Rehan Khoso, who has successfully cultivated this rice variety in Jacobabad - the border area of Sindh and Balochistan - after conducting prior research.

 

In an interview with The Express Tribune, he mentioned that this variety of rice, being a royal food, was once forbidden for the common people.

 

Underlining the health benefits of the variety, he explained that black rice contained 28 antioxidants. He was of the view that the variety had a huge export potential, as India had been exporting this type of rice on a large scale since 2017.

 

'Rice is the second biggest export product of Pakistan after textile,' he underlined and sought government’s support to exploit the full potential of the new variety and fetch foreign exchange.

 

'As of now, Pakistan does not have a full-fledged domestic market for black rice and it takes a lot of effort and money for export,' he said.

 

'The basic thing is to get seeds to the farmers and they will grow it by themselves as hybrid varieties are getting popular here,' Sindh Abadgar Board Vice President Mahmood Nawaz Shah told The Express Tribune. 'Although these seeds are more expensive and untested, they are increasingly becoming popular now owing to their high-yielding capability,' he underlined. 'There is no doubt that if the government supports this new variety of rice, it will fetch significant export revenue for Pakistan,' noted Agriculture Republic Co-founder Aamer Hayat Bhandara.

 

He was of the view that black rice had a huge demand in the international market. 'Thus, Pakistan has a massive export potential if this variety is cultivated successfully across the country.'

 

The government should scale up the research platforms and link them with farmers to get the desired results, he suggested. 'We must opt for hybrid crop varieties due to their robust demand in global markets,' he stressed, adding that such varieties would support the farmers, exporters and government in terms of revenue.

Bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh may have increased steadily in recent times but transactions involving the northern areas of Bangladesh and Northeast Indian states have not really taken off. Progress remains slow despite recent official efforts on both sides to increase overall business turnover, by generating more trade between Bangladesh with Tripura and Meghalaya.

Assam, the biggest state in the region has proved a mixed proposition. The traditional wariness in Assam, about Bangladeshis in general – an inevitable product of Assam’s own historical development – has been hard to shake off. By extension, the term ’Bangladeshis’ in Assam often means people who had crossed over from erstwhile East Pakistan and ‘Bengalis’ in general, in times of passion. Bangladeshis are also well aware of Assamiya reservations about them. Such a situation is hardly conducive towards the healthy growth of closer regional cultural/economic ties.

 

Currently there are signs that both sides may be more interested in overcoming the present stalemate. Observers have taken note of positive moves made by leaders both in Bangladesh and Assam specifically, to increase cross border trade and economic exchanges. There have been occasional visits to Assam by Bangladeshi Ministers and diplomats. Bangladeshis have been participating in fairs and gatherings in Assam where garments and handicraft are sold and the Assamese have reciprocated.

 

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma have both called for closer ties and cultural/economic exchanges, at different official fora . Earlier this year, during summer, Bangladesh sent a special gift of quality mangoes and sweets to India – more specifically to Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, among other destinations, to the Indian Prime Minister and Chief Ministers.

 

But perhaps a stronger indication of the changing times has been recent articles by Bangladeshi experts about the need for a closer contact between Assam and Bangladesh, carried in the Guwahati-based media. A few years ago, this would have been unthinkable. More on this later,

However, the unusually long and sustained aggressive campaign of major Assamiya organisations like the Asom Sahitya Sabha, the AASU and the AJYCP against what they describe as an “unceasing illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis” has left a toxic legacy .Harsh words and bitter sentiments about issues relating to Bangladesh expressed from the highest political/official levels as well as in the mainstream Assam-based media have not helped matters .

 

As stated earlier, Assam’s own history during British times and the migratory trends seen post 1947 have been the prime factors for the present situation. In short the comparatively smaller Assamiya population acutely feels the pressure of the larger Bengali population in the region, regarding it as an existential threat.

 

Rightly or wrongly, Bangladeshis(Bengalis who came over from East Pakistan and later, Bangladesh) settled in Assam are regarded as an already sizable minority that poses a strong challenge culturally/politically to the ruling Assamiya establishment in terms of its sheer weight in numbers. A general sense of unease gets reflected at many levels of Assam/Bangladesh interaction, especially at the official level. Until recently, Bangladeshi diplomats/officials hardly interacted with the mainstream media in Assam, let alone going in for any image building exercise. Some years ago, during a brief interface between a Bangladeshi diplomat and Assamiya mediapersons, the unbridgeable divergence of views on sensitive issues came to light.

 

The diplomat was asked whether Dhaka would take more stringent steps to stop the illegal movement of Bangladeshis, a major problem plaguing Assam over the decades. The presence of millions of mostly dirt-poor settlers added to the economic burdens of a relatively smaller Indian state.

Prompt came his reply: Since Bangladesh came into being only in 1971, Dhaka was not in a position to talk about what had happened decades ago. But his Government was prepared to deal with any major issues that might have developed after 1971, no matter how serious.

 

As for Bangladeshis entering Assam or India illegally, there is now in place a bilaterally accepted procedure. It is for Indian/Assam agencies to round up and present suspected illegal settlers to Dhaka authorities. They in turn would verify/check their alleged Bangladeshi origins before accepting or rejecting them as its citizens!

 

The element of mutual reserve extends to other levels as well including cultural initiatives. A couple of years ago, at an annual fair, Bangladeshi garment sellers put up a few stalls, with specimens of high quality Tangail sarees and other items on offer. But sales remained low. Disappointed, the stall owners said they would not participate in such fairs anymore!

Given this background, it has been revealing to see in Assam media special write-ups from Bangladesh arguing the case for closer ties with Assam and the major mutual benefits this would bring to the region as a whole.

 

Interestingly, the approach of one Bangladeshi writer was not defensive at all. Quite the reverse: Assam, he reasoned, should be grateful to Bangladesh. By throwing out former ULFA militants from its territory and handing over hardened insurgent leaders, Dhaka had already earned high praise from GOI for contributing to the better security of the entire NE region, and of Assam in particular. It had frozen bank accounts run by major Indian insurgent leaders/organisations and seized their assets, to help India and for the sake of lasting regional peace and harmony. Clearly Bangladesh had done Assam a major favour.

 

Bangladesh, he added, was already an economic powerhouse in the region. It had much to offer to the NE states. By way of connectivity, NE states including Assam could use the waterways and the new ports Mongla and Chalna to carry their exports to ASEAN countries and beyond.

By road too, now that transit rights were operative bilaterally, Assam-based entrepreneurs could access Myanmar/Thailand areas not to mention the Bay of Bengal. The NE region could overcome the economic limitations of being landlocked, following the example of Nepal. Both Bhutan and Nepal were seriously considering the use of Bangladeshi roads/waterways and its new ports, in addition to special facilities they already enjoy in the Kolkata/Haldia ports.

 

Bangladesh could learn from Assam in improving its fledgling tea production efforts, while NE entrepreneurs could learn more effective production/other techniques in exporting agri-processed items, developing fishing, rice cultivation etc.

 

As for pending issues/problems, official negotiations and agreements wherever possible, were the only way to go forward. The strong Bangladeshi middle class/rich would well be travelling to Nepal and Bhutan through Assam and the NE states. They could be interested in Assam-made garments, the rich variety of different layers of tribal culture and handicrafts of Meghalaya, Manipur or Nagaland. There could be major exchanges in expanding the bilateral food culture.

India’s merchandise export in January 2022 increased by 23.69% to USD 34.06 billion over USD 27.54 billion in January 2021; records increase of 31.75% over USD 25.85 billion in January 2020.

 

India’s merchandise export in 2021-22 (April-January) rose by 46.53% to USD 335.44 billion over USD 228.9 billion in 2020-21 (April-January); marks an increase of 27.0% over USD 264.13 billion in 2019-20 (April-January).

 

Value of non-petroleum exports in January 2022 was USD 30.33 billion, registering a positive growth of 19.4% over non-petroleum exports of USD 25.4 billion in January 2021 and a positive growth of 33.81% over non-petroleum exports of USD 22.67 billion in January 2020.

 

The cumulative value of non-petroleum exports in 2021-22 (Apr-Jan) was USD 287.84 billion, an increase of 37.59% over USD 209.19 billion in 2020-21 (Apr-Jan) and an increase of 25.8% over USD 228.8 billion in 2019-20 (Apr-Jan).

 

Value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in January 2022 was USD 27.09 billion, registering a positive growth of 20.1% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 22.56 billion in January 2021 and a positive growth of 36.92% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 19.79 billion in January 2020.

 

The cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in 2021-22 (April-January) was USD 255.69 billion, an increase of 34.95% over cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 189.47 billion in 2020-21(April-January) and an increase of 29.18% over cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 197.94 billion in 2019-20 (April-January).

India is on track to achieve the $400-billion export target in the current fiscal and is negotiating trade agreements with countries like the UAE, the EU and Canada, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. In a reply during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, he said the prices of most of the commodities, including petroleum products, are prevailing high and because of this there is a stress on all sectors.

 

However, international prices of finished products have commensurately increased and hence the exports of these products have not faced detriments.

 

'For 10th month in a row, April 2021 to January 2022, India has posted over $30 billion of exports. It is a record, we have already crossed $334 billion of exports which is more than the highest ever that India has done in full 12 months period.. We are well on track to achieve $400 billion of exports,' Goyal said.

 

The minister said that the government is working to negotiate free trade agreements (FTA) or comprehensive economic partnership so that Indian exporters too get similar price advantage benefits.

 

'We have launched FTA negotiations with the UAE, Australia, the United Kingdom, the EU, Canada. We are also in dialogue with GCC countries -- the bloc of six countries in the Middle East-- who have shown keen interest in FTA with India and we hope to launch the negotiation in the near future,' Goyal said.

 

With regard to support to small and medium industries, the minister said Rs 4.50 lakh crore government-guaranteed loans were given to 1.30 crore MSMEs during the Covid pandemic.

 

'Government is committed to increasing manufacturing and see India as manufacturing hub,' Goyal added.

 

India on track to achieve $400 billion exports, negotiating FTAs with countries: Goyal.

 

India is on track to achieve the $400-billion export target in the current fiscal and is negotiating trade agreements with countries like the UAE, the EU and Canada, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. In a reply during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, he said the prices of most of the commodities, including petroleum products, are prevailing high and because of this there is a stress on all sectors.

 

However, international prices of finished products have commensurately increased and hence the exports of these products have not faced detriments.

 

'For 10th month in a row, April 2021 to January 2022, India has posted over $30 billion of exports. It is a record, we have already crossed $334 billion of exports which is more than the highest ever that India has done in full 12 months period.. We are well on track to achieve $400 billion of exports,' Goyal said.

 

The minister said that the government is working to negotiate free trade agreements (FTA) or comprehensive economic partnership so that Indian exporters too get similar price advantage benefits.

 

'We have launched FTA negotiations with the UAE, Australia, the United Kingdom, the EU, Canada. We are also in dialogue with GCC countries -- the bloc of six countries in the Middle East-- who have shown keen interest in FTA with India and we hope to launch the negotiation in the near future,' Goyal said.

 

With regard to support to small and medium industries, the minister said Rs 4.50 lakh crore government-guaranteed loans were given to 1.30 crore MSMEs during the Covid pandemic.

 

'Government is committed to increasing manufacturing and see India as manufacturing hub,' Goyal added.