London/New Delhi, June 26 (IANS). Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday asked Indian industry to come out of the mindset of celebrating only modest export growth. He warned that if India has to become a major power in global trade, small increases alone will not suffice.
Addressing a business plenary session held in London, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said Indian exporters should not be satisfied with 5 to 10 percent export growth annually. He said that this growth is equal to the normal pace of global trade and does not reflect India’s real potential.
“Too often we get stuck in our comfort zone and consider growth of 5, 7 or 10 per cent a huge success,” he said. He reminded that the total world trade grows at the rate of about 4 to 5 percent every year.
Piyush Goyal stressed that if India has to become a leading country in global trade, it should not be satisfied with just nominal growth. He said that India will have to aim to increase its share in global markets and increase exports on a large scale by taking full advantage of new business opportunities.
The minister said India has so far realized only a small part of its export potential to the United Kingdom (UK). He appealed to Indian companies to focus on increasing production capacity, improving quality, adopting mechanization, strengthening branding and better packaging, so that they can become more competitive in the international market.
Piyush Goyal also stressed the importance of comprehensive free trade agreements (FTAs). He said India’s growing trade agreements are opening up new opportunities for Indian exporters and companies should set big targets to increase their share in big markets like the UK.
He said that according to the UK Office for National Statistics, Britain’s total goods and services trade is about 900 billion pounds, while the bilateral trade between India and the UK is currently between 45 to 60 billion pounds. This clearly shows that despite continuous growth, India’s share in Britain’s total trade is still relatively low.
This comment of Piyush Goyal has come at a time when the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is going to come into force from July 15. It is believed that this agreement will provide better market access to businessmen of both the countries and create new business opportunities.
–IANS
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