India lags in traditional sectors’ exports

New Delhi: India’s labour-intensive export sectors such as apparels, marine products, plastics, and gems and jewellery are showing a troubling pattern as the country is experiencing a decline in global market share across these segments during the last five years, a FIEO report said.

Apex exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) also said that a note of caution is warranted regarding a distinct spike in export growth of roughly $40 billion as this particular surge is likely attributed to a rerouting of crude oil trade routes via India to Europe. This phenomenon may not be sustainable in the coming years, it said. It added that the most pressing concern regarding the negative export growth is the poor performance of labour-intensive sectors.

In a country like India, these sectors hold immense significance not only for their job creation potential but also for their substantial contribution to net high-value addition.