Minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh has submitted a proposal to finance minister P Chidambaram seeking relief for exports of garments, leather, handicrafts and plantations in the wake of the appreciation of the rupee vis-a-vis the dollar.

The relief for the four sectors could, he indicated, be in the form of cheaper pre-shipment and packaging credit. Mr Ramesh told newspersons here on Tuesday that the PM had also been intimated about the need to provide relief to the four sectors that were labour-intensive, price-competitive and had little or no import component.

He was speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of the annual conference of the Karnataka Planters’ Association (KPA). He noted that Indian garment exports faced severe competition from China and Bangladesh, handicrafts exports from China, and plantation exports from Vietnam.

Since there was no import content, the sectors did not have the advantage of gems and jewellery where 95% was imported, like in the form of diamond roughs for cutting and polishing. Also, the four sectors were facing severe price competition. Most important, the sectors were labour-intensive, providing employment to semi-skilled workers.

Mr. Neeraj Sharma

Neeraj Electronics

CEO, Neeraj Electronics
Jorhat, India

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