Board of Trade may meet on Oct 11 to review exports

The high-level Board of Trade chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma is expected to meet next week to review India's export performance in the wake of uncertain economic conditions in Western markets.

A meeting of the Board of Trade, an advisory body to the Commerce Ministry, is likely to be held on October 11, a ministry official said.

The BoT, which has representation from business chambers and trade bodies like the Engineering Export Promotion Council and Federation of Indian Export Organisations, may discuss the impact of rupee fluctuation, rising interest rates and uncertain economic conditions in Western markets on the country's exports.

Exports to the US and Europe account for about 35 per cent of the country's total overseas shipments.

The meeting is considered

important as it provides a platform for direct interaction between the government and industry.

At its last meeting in November, 2010, the BoT had formed a group of top bankers and industrialists, including Ashok Leyland managing director R Seshasayee and Hero Group chief Pawan Munjal, to advise it on ramping up India's export competitiveness and boosting overseas shipments.

The BoT comprises other well-known industrialists as well, including Anand Mahindra of Mahindra and Mahindra, Onkar S Kanwar of Apollo Tyres, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon, K Satish Reddy of Dr Reddy's Lab and Yogi Deveshwar of ITC.

During the April-August period this fiscal, India's exports grew by 54.2 per cent to $134.5 billion.

However, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar has said the high export growth rate would not be sustainable due to the uncertain economic conditions in Western markets.