Concerns raised about the survival of export sector

KOLKATA: The situation on the external front has worsened rather than improving, raising a serious question about the sheer survival of export sector with a large number of jobs at stake, said Chairman of the EEPC India Mr T S Bhasin.

In his reaction to the release of trade data for November, Mr Bhasin said such a sharp fall in exports has come about and competitiveness of Indian exporters took a hit even as rupee has seen a significant erosion in value in the face of uncertainties in the international financial markets.

The Chairman of the EEPC India, the apex body of the engineering exporters, said the worst hit are the exporters in the small scale who find their costs going up due to the government restricting steel imports and making their raw material expensive. The possible imposition of floor prices on steel imports would seriously affect SME exporters , he added.