New Delhi, Apr 6 (KNN) In her address to the members of the Board of Trade, during the meeting held on 6th April, 2016, Commerce Minister NirmalaSitharaman mentioned that her Ministry is well aware about the problems the MSME exporters face and the Ministry is working to make life of the MSME exporters much easier.

Earlier addressing the board, Dr. Sangam Kurade, President, FISME, highlighted the crucial road blocks faced by the MSME exporters. Just 1% of Indian MSMEs are in the export trade and that make their contribution to total merchandise export  at 45%, if the number of exporting MSMEs just increase to 2%, there will be a sea change in export performance, commented Dr. Kurade.

FISME President identified absence of a grievance redressal system as the single major factor contributing to the maximum woes of MSME exporters. What is needed is an online grievance recording system where the concerned authorities have to post the specific action taken on the complaint on a time bound manner, mentioned the FISME President. He also mentioned that the entire process should be on the public domain, so that everyone knows how prompt is the Government is in addressing problems faced by individual exporters.

The Board of Trade is the highest policy making body for international trade of India and as per the rules, it should meet every quarter to review the trade scenario of the country. However, this time the meeting was held after three years.

The meeting held in Delhi, was attended by leading exporters and Trade Chambers as well as senior officers of all Government Department and agencies concerned. Drawing attention of the highest trade body to the continuous drop in export for sixteen months in a row, Dr. Kurade mentioned that in the days of severe stress on commodity prices, only value added products can remain competitive where MSMEs have the greatest advantages.

Pointing to the facts  that sectors like Handlooms, Readymade Garments and Pharma are growing India’s export basket, FISME President, mentioned that to grow in manufactured exports, Indian MSMEs must link to global value chains  and for this both export and import procedures  are needed to be streamlined.

Agreeing to the issues related to export infrastructure, raised by other speakers, President of the leading federation of MSMEs mentioned that 1 days delay in export or import is equivalent to an additional tariff of 1%.He also mentioned about the often breakdown of the on line single window trade clearance portal, which are causing enormous losses to the MSME exporters, both in terms of time and money.

Reacting on the issues raised during the discussions, the Minister for Industry and Commerce informed that her ministry will regularly interact with the MSME exporters to capture their pain points and take prompt action for redressal. (KNN/ DB)