Govt to meet exporters on Mar 3 to discuss opportunities amid coronavirus

PTI, Feb 29, 2020, 12:22 PM IST

New Delhi: The commerce and industry ministry has convened a meeting of exporters and industry on March 3 to discuss export and import opportunities emerging on account of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

The meeting will be chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

An industry source said that as China was a global supplier of goods, huge export and import opportunities have emerged due to the outbreak of this deadly disease in China and other parts of the globe.

“The outbreak of this disease has reflected that depending completely on one country for goods is not a good idea and in such a situation, India is best placed to fill this global supply chain gap,” the source said.

According to a commerce ministry analysis, there are as many as 550 products where Indian exporters can plug global supply gaps.

These identified products accounted for about 75 per cent of India’s exports in 2018. Currently, exports of these items are estimated at $243 billion.

Further 1,054 products have been identified where India is dependent on Chinese imports.

In the analysis, the ministry has identified alternate countries from where New Delhi can import products disrupted by the outbreak in China.

The ministry has shared this list of made in India products which can be used to plug global supply line disruption with embassies.

The death toll in China’s deadly coronavirus has climbed to 2,788 so far 25 with confirmed cases rising sharply to 78,824.