By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 1, 2014: EXPORTS during December, 2013 were valued at USD 26.35 billion (Rs.163109.25 crore) which was 3.49 per cent higher in Dollar terms (17.24 per cent higher in Rupee terms) than the level of USD 25457.54 million (Rs. 139119.85 crore) during December, 2012. India's external economic engagement has been considerably enhanced over the last nine years. In 2012-13, exports stood at $ 300.6 as compared to .8 billion in 2003-04. In the last nine years, the total merchandise trade has increased from USD 142 billion to USD 792 billion. On the other hand, services exports have crossed US$ 145 billion.

The total trade of goods and services stands at over USD one trillion which is 56% of GDP. This was achieved through robust policy announcements, which provided crucial support to struggling enterprises, especially labour intensive industry to ensure their global competitiveness.

The Foreign Trade Policy focused on arresting and reversing the decline in exports. A multi-pronged strategy was adopted: to provide stability of policy and giving additional support, especially in employment intensive sectors. A market diversification strategy underpinned our approach to reach out to non-traditional destinations in Africa, Latin America and Asia since our traditional markets.

Exports from Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have also scaled a new height reaching USD 87.55 billion in the year 2012-13. In the last four years, exports from SEZs have grown four-fold. SEZs at present are providing direct employment to approximately 11,50,000 persons.

In the last four years, India has aggressively pursued a policy of trade diversification and engaged with all dynamic parts of the world. Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are an important element of India's trade strategy and through FTAs we have sought to enhance our presence in new and emerging markets to increase our market share. In the last three years, we have signed Trade in Goods Agreement with ASEAN, Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with Republic of Korea, Japan, and Malaysia and are now negotiating similar Agreements with New Zealand, Australia and Canada. We are at an advanced stage of concluding an ambitious Broad based Trade and Investment agreement with EU. As a result of these agreements, Indian exports will be able to gain significant market access in newer territories.