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Expressing optimism over the country’s exports growth, Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam has said that India's merchandise exports are likely to be around $470-480 billion in the current fiscal (FY23) against $420 billion in 2021-22. He added that the services sector is likely to contribute another 280 billion. He noted that ‘we are pretty much on track and added the exact target for the fiscal may be announced later’. India's overall exports (merchandise and services) touched an all-time high of $669.65 billion in April-March 2021-22, jumping by 34.50 per cent over the same period last year.

On trade deficit, the secretary said it is likely to moderate in the coming months because of softening of prices of oil and other commodities in the global market. He said the trade deficit, which crossed $100 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal, is not going to cross a ‘discomfort level’. The merchandise trade deficit in July 2022 was $31.02 billion, taking the gap between imports and exports to $100.01 billion in April-July 2022-23.

Subrahmanyam further said there is a huge opportunity for India as many western countries are planning to shift their operations from China. He said the shift from China is huge, and added that many companies are looking to shift their manufacturing away from China and move to India.