Alert Government of Manufacturers-Exporters Against Extending Lockdown

Mumbai, Ta. 9 April 2020, Thursday

Industry organizations have unanimously cautioned the government against further prolonging the 3-day lockdown ending April 7. Exporters of the country will have a big blow if the lockdown is prolonged, according to a letter written by the trade body to the Commerce Ministry in the last two days. Apart from the increase in the loss of exporters, it has also expressed concern that other countries will not feel the same way in traditional markets.

Consumers of goods manufacturers and exporters including apparel, engineering goods and electronics in the country have announced that production units should resume quickly. If India's exports from India fall, other countries will take advantage of it, he said.

Exporters in India should have the opportunity to fulfill their previous pending orders before factories are resuming in China and they can quickly begin to vacate their stocks, a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) official said.

The CII has supported the movement of some industrial sectors and the establishment of special economic zones as quarantined zones to keep production activity intact.

While the trade season is busy for April-June exporters, India's markets cannot afford to run to others, said an official from the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India.

India's merchandise exports account for 5% of engineering products exports. He added that foreign buyers should be persuaded to wait a month, but they should not wait for longer.