Exporters ask govt to to review possible impact of deadly coronavirus on trade

Exporters on Thursday urged the government to review the possible impact of deadly coronavirus on trade as China is one of the top trading partners for India.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that if the problem persists for long, it may impact domestic mobile manufacturers as they import certain components from China.

"Mobile exporters may face issues if the problem will continue for long as they import lot of components from the neighbouring country," FIEO Director General Ajaya Sahai said.

He added that certain Indian exporters have received inquiries from Hong Kong and China for import of N72 masks.

"We have provided details of those suppliers to them," he said.

Engineering exporters said that China is among the top ten destinations for engineering shipments.

"We urged the government to review the possible impact of deadly coronavirus on trade as well," the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India said in a statement.

Indian engineering exports to China increased by a significant 27.60 per cent to USD 1.77 billion (about Rs 12,600 crore) during April-December 2019-20 from USD 1.33 billion (about Rs 9,500 crore) a year ago, according to EEPC India analysis.

"In fact, China has emerged as our 10th largest export destination for engineering goods, dominated by iron and steel as also industrial machinery,'' EEPC Chairman Ravi Sehgal said.

With disruptions reported in China due to transport and travel restrictions in several cities, the council is trying to ascertain the exact impact on trade, Sehgal said.

"Exports to China showed significant increase against the backdrop of overall negative trend of 1.95 per cent in total engineering exports of USD 57.9 billion for the April-December 2019-20 period," he said.

The deadly coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in China with 25 new fatalities reported from central Hubei province, taking the death toll to 132 and confirmed infection cases to nearly 6,000, as health experts warned that the epidemic may reach its peak in the next 10 days resulting in large-scale casualties.