India may not achieve export target of $360 bn in fiscal 2013: FICCI

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The exports target of USD 360 billion for the current fiscal is unlikely to be achieved due to the global demand slowdown, a survey said on Sunday.

The country's exporting community is not optimistic about a possible improvement in the overall export conditions over the next two quarters, according to FICCI's Export Survey.

"The government's export target of USD 360 billion for the year 2012-13 seems difficult to achieve," it said.

It added that rising cost of raw materials and weak demand from overseas are primary factors that are bothering members of the Indian export community.

According to the survey, raw material prices have gone up by 20-30 per cent in the last three years.

"India's external sector is once again amidst a difficult situation owing to the global economic scenario," it said, adding that majority of the survey participants said they foresee no change in the export conditions over the next six months.

About 65 per cent of about 80 participants said export conditions currently have deteriorated compared to the last six months of 2011-12.

India's exports plummeted by 9.7 per cent in August, a deceleration for the fourth consecutive month.

"In fact the participants didn't seem too optimistic about a possible improvement in the overall export conditions over the next two quarters," it added.

However, it said that market diversification of exports was yielding some positive results for Indian exporters.

Regions like Africa, Middle East, South East Asia and Latin American would see an improvement in demand in the next six months (July-December 2012), it said.

"Until now Europe and the US have been the primary export markets for India. The new strategy for India should be targeting other countries like Africa and Middle East to take the next leap forward," the survey said.

It also asked to diversify its product basket and emphasise more on exporting technology intensive goods.