New Delhi: India's new foreign trade policy will be out today against the backdrop of declining exports and world trade shrinking by an estimated 10 per cent this year thanks to the global meltdown.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma who will be spelling out the details of the export import policy, says, "The focus will be on labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, agricultural and marine products.
NDTV has also learnt that export procedures are likely to be eased, including the time given for completion of document work.
The new policy is expected to also substantially reduce red tape, an issue that has long been bothering the country's exporters.
Commerce Ministry sources also say that the focus of the new policy is likely to be on market diversification like shifting away from the European Union and the United States. The meltdown has hit imports by these countries.
India's new market focus is likely to be Latin America and Africa.
The grim reality is that India's exports have been contracting for nine months in a row.
India failed to achieve the 200 billion dollar target it had set for itself in 2008-2009.
Exports to developed countries have taken a huge beating since October last year with the onset of the global meltdown.
Labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery were the worst hit, with thousands of workers being laid off over the past year.
However if one looks at the growth of India's share in global trade over the last five years, it has been growing at a rapid pace, but slowed down due to the global meltdown.
India's exports grew from $83.5 billion in 2004-05 to $168.7 billion in 2008-09, with an average annual growth rate of 25% the third fastest after Russia and China during the period.
Experts say growth in exports might return to double-digit numbers as early as next year if the sprouting green shoots noticeable in certain areas of the global economy turn into sustainable recovery.