Council bid to improve garment-makers' lot: The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has constituted a core group to chalk out a strategy for diversifying garment production to give garment exports a major boost, vice-chairman of AEPC HKL Magu said. ``Indian garment exports at present largely consists of cotton and only 20 per cent synthetic apparel are exported. In order to compete in the global market we have to increase the synthetic production line, Magu added.ECGC to launch new products: Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) will soon introduce new products for exporters and banks on the recommendation of Coopers and Lybrand. The guarantee covers being offered to banks covering risks of non payment by exporters within India are not available even in the developed market. At a meeting organised by ECGC, it was explained to the exporters that claim payment would become easy if the basic terms of sanction and guarantee conditions are complied with. It was also explained whythe corporation had to reject many claims due to non-compliance with sanction terms and guarantee conditions.
Phdcci plea to strengthen anti-dumping mechanism: The PHD chamber of commerce and industry (Phdcci) has urged the government to strengthen the anti-dumping mechanism to safeguard the interests of industry. In a letter to the commerce ministry the chamber said under the regulations of world trade organisations (WTO), the authorities can only impose duties on countries from where the actual imports have taken place during the investigation period. The multinational companies are taking advantage of these rules,the Phdcci chamber said in a statement today.
Globalisation to stay despite currency crisis: Globalisation received a setback following the recent south-east Asian economic meltdown but the process was here to stay, according to an international˙al expert on free trade. "What is happening in Indonesia today is a great cause of concern, as these countries were economically verysound, but that does not mean that there is anything wrong with the process of globalisation," according to director of Oxfam, a British NGO David Bayer.
FIEO lauds efforts to ease liquidity for exporters: Federation of Indian Export Organisations president Ramu S Deora has welcomed commerce ministry's efforts to increase the flow of net bank credit to export sector to 15 per cent to improve liquidity.
MMTC to earn Rs 650 cr from iron ores export: MMTC Ltd has secured a 2.94 per cent increase in prices for iron ore lumps and 2.82 per cent for iron ore fines to be exported to Japan during the next fiscal (I998-99). A contract for supplying 7.2 million tonne was concluded in Tokyo on February 4. The deal will bring in foreign exchange worth Rs 650 crore.
Slowdown in exports continues: The slowdown in exports noticed in November 1997 continued in December also, according to the latest commerce ministry provisional data received from Delhi and Mumbai airports and the Calcutta sea port.The growth rate registered in December 1997 was 5.13 per cent lower than that in December 1996. The differential exchange rate between December 1997 and December 1996 also contributed to the lower dollar growth in exports since the rupee depreciated by 9.4 per cent in December 1997 compared to December 1996.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
