India using every policy tool to help exporters: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: An inter-ministerial group is in regular talks with the companies whose cargoes have been stuck due to growing conflict in West Asia, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

“Every day, the inter-ministerial group talks to the exporters. Even this morning, they must have had an engagement. They take feedback, and we will not be found wanting in supporting our exporters in any way,” Goyal told reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).

He said the government will use every policy tool to support exporters.

“I have already given some instructions in the last few days, as I get to the office today, we will be formulating ways to give comfort to our exporters, in the next two days,” the minister added.

Escalation of conflict in West Asia has led to disruption in the global supply-chain hitting Indian exporters, especially dealing in farm products like rice, spices, fruits and meat products.

On the issue of a jump in freight cost due to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, Goyal said the ministry is working with exporters to work out possible ways of support.

Meanwhile, the Union Finance Ministry said the conflict in West Asia could have significant and potentially long-lasting implications for India’s economy, including risks to oil prices, balance of payments and financial stability.

“Speculation as to what would constitute the endgame for this conflict is rife. One thing is certain. The levels of volatility in macroeconomic outcomes and financial markets, and the world's uncertainty, have risen and will likely remain elevated for some time,” the ministry said in its Monthly Economic Review.

Regardless of the immediate endgame for this conflict, it may have made the long-term endgame for lasting peace in the Gulf and beyond less clear, it said.

“The implications of this conflict for India are significant and may be longer-lasting in ways that are not immediately understood,” the report noted.

The report further noted that “if the Strait of Hormuz remains vulnerable to disruption, the geopolitical risk premium in oil prices will inevitably return. If the confrontation ends with a credible shift in the regional balance of power, the international system will gradually absorb the shock, and markets will stabilise”.