Exim Bank sees Goa as hub for export services

Panaji: The pharmaceutical industry accounts for 47% of Goa’s

export

sector, followed by iron, steel and iron ore, which made up 15% of Goa’s exports in 2021-22, said the Export-Import Bank of India (

Exim Bank

). Given that Goa is emerging as a key ‘work from home’ destination in the post-pandemic world, the state now has an opportunity to improve in

services

exports, officials said. However, local industry representatives pointed out that the Pramod Sawant government needs to appoint an IAS officer as an administrator for exports if Goa’s export has to thrive.

“Drug formulation and biologicals constitute 47% of total exports of Goa,” said Mayank Khurana, Exim bank’s deputy manager. “The data for export destinations from Goa showed that highest was done to the US, followed by 10% and 5% to China and UK respectively.”

Khurana was giving an overview on India’s foreign trade and the composition of Goa’s top merchandise exports during a capacity-building session on export opportunities for Goa. The programme was organised by the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

“Due to increased digital modes of work that is work from home and companies preferring Goa as one of the key destinations, services exports have the potential to grow exponentially in the coming years,” said Khurana.

Speaking about the challenges that Goa-based merchandise exporters face, GCCI director general Sanjay Amonkar said that Mormugao Port is unable to cater to the needs of exporters, who have to rely on ports in Mumbai to ship goods overseas.

“During discussions, exporters say that the Mormugao Port is not at all being utilised for exports due to stoppage of the container service. To promote exports in the state, more importance needs to be given to exports,” said Amonkar.

For Goa’s exports to take off, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) needs to reopen its office in Goa, while the state government should appoint an IAS officer who can liaison and coordinate with the multiple agencies involved in exports, said Amonkar.

“The government of Goa should appoint a secretary for exports who will be a single-point contact for all exports-related support, be it finance, logistics, basic infrastructure or promotion and coordination with the Union government departments. Today, export-related matters are spread with various central government departments and are difficult to access,” said Amonkar.

Exim Bank’s chief manager Prashant Kumar said that the Ubharte Sitaare Programme (USP) will help identify Indian companies that have good export potential, but are under-performing due to the lack of financial and technical support.

Currently under-performing companies are being offered structured support, both financial and advisory services and technical assistance, for which an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore has been created, said Kumar.


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