Re appreciation continue to haunt exporters

New Delhi, Sept 23: The impact of appreciating rupee against dollar will hit hard on the exporter's order book position in the next six months, a Ficci survey said.

However, the exporters are using mechanisms including forward contracts, shifting to other currencies and establishing protective clauses in their newly set contracts to increase their earnings, the survey added.

''Exporting more to regions such as the West Asia and the European Union, a strategic move to partially nullify the impact of the strengthening rupee is also being resorted to by some exporters,'' Ficci said.

Besides the appreciating rupee and the rising cost of raw materials, the other issues that figure in the top five impeding factors listed by the participating companies include increase in the oil prices, competitive environment, and the rising cost of credit.

The survey saw the participation from 286 companies with a wide geographical and sectoral spread.

The survey hinted that exporters have welcomed the 'relief package' announced by the government, but its impact on export movement will not be pronounced because of the overriding influence of Rupee appreciation on their overall earnings.

A majority of the exporters believe that unless the relief measures are implemented in a time bound manner, the express objective of providing cushion to them would be lost.

UNI