NEW DELHI: Exporters are worried due to uncertainty of orders, higher logistics costs, liquidity issues and possible disruption of raw material supply chain due to a prolonged crisis in West Asia, with other shipping channel (Bab el-Mandeb) also affected.The issue briefly came up for discussion during a meeting between commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and export promotion bodies on Wednesday. While fuel prices have gone up after dipping last month, exporters said they are witnessing delays in execution of orders due to uncertainty in shipping schedules and buyers are adopting a cautious approach, with some seeking extensions in delivery timelines and others delaying fresh purchase decisions. Trade bodies, such as Fieo, are demanding a fresh set of measures to help businesses deal with the crisis, an industry representative present in the meeting said.Another executive said that Goyal received feedback on the situation. During the meeting, he is learnt to have backed further support for service exporters, especially hospitality and medical tourism, a person familiar with the deliberations said.Later, at the JRD Tata Memorial lecture organised by industry body Assocham, Goyal said that the India story has remained resilient despite the global uncertainties.“In the first quarter of FY27, war continues. Petrol, crude, gas, diesel, all have all faced uncertainty. Hormuz has been opening and closing through this period. Now we have the Red Sea crisis; it is only expanding. Despite that, as I speak to you today, our merchandise exports have grown by 15% so far in the current fiscal,” he said.He also said trust deficit between business and govt has sustained in spite of the several reforms undertaken over the years and asserted that Centre is working to “truly address” the issue, particularly through its efforts to make it easier to do business and reduce compliance burden.
