Goyal to meet exporters on June 30

New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold discussions with representatives of export promotion councils, and industry associations on June 30 on the country's outbound shipments, which have contracted by 2.17 per cent in May.

According to industry sources, issues pertaining to India's goods and services exports would be discussed in the meeting.

After registering a positive growth for two months, India's exports slipped into negative territory again, contracting 2.17 per cent year-on-year to USD 38.73 billion in May due to a fall in petroleum goods' shipments, while trade deficit narrowed to USD 21.88 billion during the month.

The ceasefire between Iran and Israel has offered a major relief to India, which has over USD 100 billion worth of trade with the Middle East countries and is heavily dependent on energy imports from the Gulf region.

An exporter said that reduced geopolitical tension lowers the risk premium, stabilises freight costs, and enhances predictability in shipping routes for Indian goods via the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but key passage between Iran and Oman. PTI RR HVA