Expressing hopes over India’s exports growth, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that the country’s merchandise and services export would touch about $540 billion mark in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. He added that exports are growing at a healthy pace and shipments of goods would reach over $330 billion, similarly, services exports would touch about $200 billion.
Earlier, Prabhu had said the country’s exports have risen despite global uncertainties in the early part of FY19. Besides, merchandise exports for the period April-February 2018-19 was $298.47 billion as against $274.21 billion during the period April-February 2017-18, registering a positive growth of 8.85%. In the last fiscal year, total exports stood at $302.84 billion, below the government’s target of $310 billion, while it was $275.85 billion in the year before.
Talking about the stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement between India and European Union, the minister said India is keen to resume the talks. He said ‘We are really keen to have this FTA with EU. India will work to find a workable deal’. The negotiations for the pact, officially dubbed as the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement, have been held up since May 2013 and have witnessed many hurdles.
