India's exports were in line with the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2004-09 targets but for the last fiscal when the country's merchandise trade became a victim of demand recession in the US and Europe and ended flat.
India's merchandise exports recorded a compounded annual growth rate of 21.5 per cent during 2004-05 to 2008-09.
Exports till 2007-08 has been in line with the targets in the trade policy, the Ouctome Budget document said.
"The success story continued into the first half of 2008-09. However, India's exports were adversely affected from September 2008 onwards due to the deepening global economic slowdown," it said.
After growing at 31.3 per cent in the first half 2008-09, exports plunged by 22.3 per cent in the remaining six months, falling short of the $200 billion target. For the fiscal, exports were $168.7 billion, a flat growth of 3.5 per cent.
The FTP had two objectives — doubling India's percentage share of merchandise export and making trade an instrument of economic growth — and "both the objectives of the FTP have been considerably met", it added.
India's share in the global merchandise trade increased from 0.8 per cent in 2003 to 1.4 per cent in 2008, it said adding the export sector also created a large number of jobs.
The government will unveil the new FTP, which will spell out the priorities segments in the external trade, in August.
Source : Business Standard