Rupee fall to benefit exporters though imports may be costly

NEW DELHI: Exporters feel the steep rupee depreciation will fetch them higher payments in terms of dollar, though imports of raw material could get costlier.

"Depreciation is good. You may gain in terms of depreciation but you lose out in your input cost," Engineering Export Promotion Council ( EEPC) Director Suranjan Gupta said.

The declining rupee against the greenback could benefit engineering exporters but at the same time also raises the possibility of rising import bills for equipment, capital goods and machinery.

"Large number of exporters are importing. If not importing they buy from dealers. In the long term, exporters would gain and they would be benefited," he said.

Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said the lowering of rupee against dollar "won't matter much" as the industry is dependent on gold imports.

"Rather it (rupee deprecation) will affect us. As the industry is import-oriented. We are buying gold in dollar," GJEPC Rajiv Jain said.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) is of the view that the tumbling of rupee will not benefit exporters as inward shipments will become costlier.

"Depreciation (of the rupee) will not benefit. Sectors like electronics, plastic, engineering and petroleum which heavily depend on import will be affected," FIEO Director General Ajay Sahai said.

In turn, he said, the foreign buyers are asking for bulk discounts which will lower the level of payments received by exporters.

To check the sliding rupee, the Reserve Bank had last week asked exporters to convert half of their retained foreign exchange earnings into rupee to make available dollars in the market.