In what could be the first official revision of the country’s export target for the current financial year, a senior commerce ministry official told The Indian Express that it would be realistic to expect India’s exports to grow by a little more than 18 per cent to touch $192 billion, short of the $200 billion target set originally for this fiscal.

Addressing the concerns of exporters, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath today said, “The next five months will determine whether the target will be met or not, and it again depends on the revival of the western economies.” He said that there would be no ‘sops’ in terms of a relief package, but the government would focus on providing a level playing field to exporters to tackle competition. This comes just days after the director general of foreign trade RS Gujral pointed out that exports fell 15 per cent in October as against a growth of 10 per cent in September.

With their business getting eroded so quickly, the exporter community has repeatedly called for government intervention in the form of a relief package. According to sources, the package could include extension of pre- and post-shipment credit for exporters so that they may be able to continue running their operations in case they receive late payments from their buyers abroad.