According to the estimates made by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), India’s exports in 2020-21 may decline around 7.3% to $290 billion compared to $313.36 billion in the previous fiscal due to Covid-19 but may improve next year.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO), in its recent forecast, a 9.2% decline in the volume of world merchandise trade for 2020, followed by a 7.2% rise in 2021. According to the experts, India’s export strategy should be two-pronged focusing on sectors where major imports are happening, efforts should also be made to boost traditional sectors, which are important for exports as well as employment. There exists a lot of scope for increasing exports as India’s share in the major contributors to global trade as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is rightly focusing on these sectors consisting of machinery, electronics & electricals, automobile, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment, is less than 0.9%.

 According to the figures circulated by the Commerce & Industry Ministry, India’s goods exports declined by 17.76% in April-November 2020-21 to $173.66 billion. India to attract exports as well as exports-led FDIs requires prioritized treatment to robust free trade agreements with its major partners like the US, UK, and the EU.