No Immediate Advantage to Exporters Seen From Rupee Fall

New Delhi: The steep depreciation of rupee will not give an immediate advantage to exporters in India, trade bodies said on Monday.

In line with the crash in equities, the rupee tumbled sharply by 82 paise - its biggest single-day fall this year - to settle at 66.65 against the US dollar as global meltdown fears remained unabated.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president S C Ralhan said that such high volatility will "not add competitiveness to exports" as these exchange rate being volatile cannot be factored into prices.

Only miniscule exporters who have not hedged their risk and received their payment may get windfall gain, Mr Ralhan said in a statement.

FIEO, however, said that if the current rate continues for some time it may have a positive impact for exporters.

The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) said that crash of rupee to almost two year low does not automatically result in a comparative advantage to exporters because it is not only the Indian currency but several currencies in the emerging markets which have lost under the impact of meltdown of global stocks.

"The emerging economies are the major competitors of Indian products in the global markets. With weakness to currencies all across the emerging markets' pack, no unique advantage accrues to India," EEPC said.