New Delhi: The government may selectively extend more sops to exporters rather than withdrawing the stimulus given to them last year in the face of global slowdown, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said.
"The engineering sector may need some support. For the apparel and handicrafts we will see if we can do something more. We will review and see if we can give some more incentives," Sharma told reporters travelling with to Nepal and Egypt.
He had gone to Kathmandu for signing a new India-Nepal trade treaty on October 27, while in Cairo he attended a consultation meeting with African nations on WTO negotiations on October 29.
The Commerce Ministry would review the latest trends and outlook on the export sector later this month.
Sharma, was categorical about continuation of the stimulus package as the exporters remain in trouble despite containment in damages.
"It is premature even to think on exiting the contra - cyclical measures," he said.
While, exports declined in September, for 12 months in a row, the decline was arrested at 13.8 percent from a peak of 39.2 percent this fiscal.
As per the Commerce Ministry analysis, several sectors like gems and jewellery, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, leather and marine products have started showing improvement, as the global economy has begun to look up.
However, the engineering sector still remains in rough weather.
After major economies entered into hard times following the crash of the Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the government had given sops like interest subsidy to exporters, who were bleeding under the impact of the global economic crisis.
For the first six months of the current financial year, the merchandise exports have contracted by over 28 percent.
However, Sharma had an optimistic outlook. "In the quarter ending December we should be closing the gap and in the last quarter we would have crossed the hurdles as far as the foreign trade is concerned," he said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, November 01, 2009, 11:41