By WAM
New Delhi : Indian merchandise goods exports will touch US $ 200 billion next year, registering a phenomenal growth of 20 per cent over the last five years of a liberalized regime, says a recent survey.
According to a CEO survey conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), simplifying certain procedures and improving infrastructure and turnaround time at the ports and airports, would help further in consolidating the gains.
The survey which has been released to the media on Saturday points out to the high rise of 61 per cent in sea freight, making exports uncompetitive and suggested some remedial measures. At the same time, it laid stress on ?Improving infrastructure, high transportation costs, better road linkages with ports and setting a target of a maximum of 10 hours turnaround time at ports for all goods by 2010.? Competition in global markets, it says, for Indian products are from China, Romania, Brazil, Sweden, France, Vietnam Bangladesh and ASEAN countries. The products, which face intense competition, include; capital goods, high-tech products, healthcare products, medical equipments, automobiles and information technology.
The CEOs sought support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in upgrading technologies towards better and more efficient production, total Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to be implemented across all ports, and focused marketing in various regions including the Gulf and Middle East.