The value of overall (merchandise and services) export during the last five years for India increased from $538 billion in FY19 to $676 billion in FY22 and $776 billion in FY23.
MSME Exports: The share of export of MSME-specified products in all India exports continues to decline year-on-year even as the country’s overall exports including merchandise and services grew by an estimated 13.84 per cent in financial year 2022-23. Citing data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Minister of State in the MSME Ministry in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha noted that the share of MSME-specified goods in overall exports stood at 43.6 per cent in FY23.
This was down from 45.03 per cent share in FY22, 49.35 per cent in FY21 and 49.77 per cent in FY20. However, the value of MSME exports had increased to $190 billion in FY22 from $143.9 billion in FY21 and $154.8 billion in FY20.
The decline in export share is contrary to the government’s target. Former MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari in 2020 had set a target of increasing MSMEs’ share in exports to 60 per cent in five years. Importantly, the share of the MSME sector in India’s total exports does not comprise MSME goods only. It has a contribution from large enterprises also, according to Prafulla Chandra Mishra, Statistical Advisor, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce.
Addressing the SMExports Summit by Financial Express Digital in February this year, Mishra had said that the exports of goods manufactured by MSMEs are differentiated from exports of goods related to MSMEs based on the tariff codes or ITC-HS (Indian Trade Clarification based on Harmonized System) codes. However, “there is no way we can distinguish exclusively ITC-HS codes reserved for MSMEs.”
For MSME-related exports, 454 items at the ITC-HS four-digit level out of total of 1,218 ITC-HS items were identified by the MSME ministry in coordination with the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) and DGFT.
The country’s “MSME-related export” was $189,768 million during FY22 as compared to $143,823 million during FY21, registering a positive growth of 31.9 per cent, according to the data shared by Mishra in his presentation. However, for exports of items reserved for manufacturing by MSMEs or exclusive to MSMEs, the share in India’s total exports dropped from 9.1 per cent amounting to $26.4 million in FY21 and to 7.7 per cent in FY22 amounting to $32.6 million. “It is a matter of concern though not that much,” he said.
Meanwhile, the value of overall (merchandise and services) export during the last five years for India increased from $538 billion in FY19 to $676 billion in FY22 and $776 billion in FY23, according to the data shared in Parliament by Anupriya Patel, Minister of State in the Commerce Ministry.
According to the latest data available, the overall exports in June 2023 were estimated to be $60.09 billion, exhibiting a negative growth minus 13.16 per cent over June 2022. Overall imports in June 2023 were estimated at $68.98 billion, exhibiting a negative growth of minus 13.91 per cent over June 2022.
