Goyal tells industry to enhance export basket

Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal asked the industry to look for ways to expand India’s export basket by adding more value-added products and cut shipments of raw materials. The minister said, “We are moving from some raw materials to intermediates. Can we collectively look at changing basket of exports to do more value-added products? Can we reduce exports of, let’s say, iron ore and export high-quality steel? Can we stop exporting alumina, and stop importing aluminium products?”

He also stated that the government has identified a few champion sectors, like textiles, fisheries and IT, to expand India’s exports. Fighting the cause for promoting India as a leading player in world trade, he said that the government would lawfully prevent any country, which does not allow equal and reciprocal access to our products and services in their country from participating in government contracts in India.

He further added that Indian industry needs to boost its scale in order to capitalize on the China-US trade war. He also encouraged industry to highlight their problems in terms of harassment by inspectors of any sort.