Growth forecast cut by WTO not augur well for exports: FIEO

NEW DELHI: Exporters body FIEO today said the government should immediately announce steps to contain dip in exports amid WTO lowering its trade growth forecast to 2.8 per cent from 3 per cent for this year.

Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) President SC Ralhan said that this forecast "does not augur well for India's exports as we have seen a continuous decline in exports since December 2014".

The WTO's lower trade growth projections for 2016 to 3.9 per cent from 4 per cent may further adversely affect the country's exports growth, he said in a statement.

Ralhan added the Indian exporters have the ability to face such global challenges and take forward the shipments growth if necessary government support is made available.

He urged the government to consider the demand of the exporters in terms of reducing the cost of credit, immediate reintroduction of interest subvention scheme and steps to reduce transaction and logistics costs.

India's exports contracted for the ninth month in a row, dipping 20.66 per cent in August to USD 21.26 billion, due to steep decline in engineering and petroleum shipments.

Trade deficit widened to USD 12.47 billion due to 140 per cent rise in gold imports in August from year-ago period.