Expects 2018 to be a good year for exports: EEPC India chairman.

KOLKATA: The year 2018 is expected to be a good year for exports on back of global trade boom, feels Ravi P Sehgal, who has taken over as the new chairman of the EEPC India, the apex organisation of the country's engineering exporters. 

"The global trade is heading into a boom , as we usher in 2018 which promises to be full of opportunities and growth for the Indian exporters, making it imperative to add competitive pricing and technological strength to our exports," Sehgal said in a release issued by EEPC on Wednesday. 

"The good news is that , as the IMF has outlined, that the global trade has grown at a faster clip than the overall world output growth, as the US, Eurozone , Japan and China are witnessing a resurgence in economic activity. All these markets are very important destinations for the Indian export basket, including the engineering goods , which are among the largest contributors to the country's export consignments," said Sehgal who is also the managing Director of Carnation Industries Limited. 

The new EEPC India chairman said while the robust growth in world trade would be a theme in 2018, and which needs to be fully exploited by India, there is a need to be on a guard against increasing protectionism in the top economies. 

"EEPC India will work actively with the commerce ministry to engage with the US, Britain and the EU to sort out any policy issues that may act as barriers to our shipments," he said. 

Sehgal also said that he would seek cooperation and support from the finance ministry to immediately resolve exporters' issues relating to piling up of refunds of the GST. "We have to ensure that our exporters should not miss out any global opportunity for the sake of cash flow. This is possible only when the GST glitches are removed". 

Cumulative value of Indian exports for the April-November 2017-18 period was $196.48 billion as against $175.41 billion registering a growth of 12.01%. Growth in November was even more impressive at 30% while the engineering exports increased by over 43% during the month.