Piyush Goyal to Chair Board of Trade Meeting on Exports

New Delhi, Dec 11 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will chair a meeting of the Board of Trade on December 17 to discuss ways to boost exports, an official said.

Headed by the minister, the board includes participants from various states, union territories, and senior officials from public and private sectors.

The official said that representatives of export promotion councils will present their views on the exports, besides the team of Government e-marketplace (GeM) will give a detailed presentation about the public procurement portal.

The procurement of goods and services from the government portal has crossed Rs 2 lakh crore in November due to higher buying activities by different ministries and departments.

The board provides an opportunity to have regular discussions and consultations with trade and industry and advise the government on policy measures related to FTP to achieve the objective of boosting India's trade.

It also provides a platform for state governments and union territories to articulate their perspective on trade policy, and also to the government of India for apprising them about international developments affecting India's trade potential and opportunities.

The meeting assumes significance as India's exports are being impacted due to global economic uncertainties.

India's merchandise exports rose 6.21 per cent to USD 33.57 billion in October this year, even as the trade deficit widened to a record high of USD 31.46 billion during the month.

Imports increased by 12.3 per cent to USD 65.03 billion in the month under consideration due to a jump in gold imports.

Cumulatively, exports during the April-October period this fiscal contracted by 7 per cent to USD 244.89 billion, while imports fell 8.95 per cent to USD 391.96 billion.

The trade deficit during the seven-month period was USD 147.07 billion against USD 167.14 billion in the corresponding period last year.