Karnataka - Bangalore

Look for new markets, exporters told

Bangalore: Speakers at a seminar organised by the State Bank of Mysore (SBM) here on Saturday exhorted exporters to explore new markets and add value to cope with the ongoing global economic crisis.

A large number of exporters and importers participated in the seminar.

In his presidential address, bank managing director P.P. Pattanayak, said the Indian economy had decelerated since 2006-07. National income, which had grown by over 11 per cent in 2006-07, had grown by 9 per cent in the following year. This year, the economy was likely to grow by about 7-7.5 growth, he said.

The problems caused by the recent “upheavals” in the foreign exchange markets had worsened because foreign institutional investors had pulled out about $14 billion within a month. “The share markets are down and so are the real estate markets,” he said.

Ratna K. Makhija, director, SBM, said exports, which had grown by about 18 or 19 per cent annually in the last few years, were likely to miss the current year’s target of $ 200 billion. Ms. Makhija asked exporters to “take advantage” of moves initiated by the Finance Ministry and the RBI to “un-jam the wheels of credit.”

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