Address rupee appreciation concerns: FIEO to RBI

New Delhi, Apr 15: Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the apex body of export promotion organisations, has demanded the Reserve Bank of India and Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath to address concerns of exporters arising out of hardening of the rupee in the forthcoming foreign credit and trade policies.

The Foreign Credit Policy and Trade Policy are to be announced on April 24 and April 19 respectively.

Rupee appreciation has started taking its toll on exports which have slipped to single digit growth after registering a high of 24 per cent in April-November 2006, according to Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh K Gupta.

''The writing on the wall is visible and unless quick action is taken to arrest the trend of continuous appreciation or offset the losses to exporters, the coming months would be most difficult for exports,'' he added.

Rupee has appreciated by about nine per cent since August 2006 from Rs 46.50 to Rs 42.65 on April 9.

It has already eaten whatsoever small margins remain in the competitive field of exports. The situation is likely to compound further as the exporters are shy to enter into new contracts, the FIEO chief said.

The domestic market with booming retail sectors seems to be an easy option for exporters, he added.

UNI