Trade, import and export for MSMEs: The 45 per cent share of the MSME sector in India’s total exports also has a contribution from large enterprises and hence is not solely based on exports from MSMEs, according to Prafulla Chandra Mishra, Statistical Advisor, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce. Addressing the second edition of the SMExports Summit last week organised by Financial Express Digital, Mishra said, “People say 45 per cent is the contribution of the MSME sector in exports but it is not. It also includes the large sector. It is not exclusive to the MSME sector.”
Exports from MSMEs in FY22 had a share of 45.03 per cent, down from 49.35 per cent in FY21 and 49.77 per cent in FY20, according to the data shared by the minister of state in the MSME ministry Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in the Rajya Sabha in February. 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.
Also read: FE SMExports Summit 2023: India’s top MSME voices share blueprint for scaling up exports
According to Mishra, exports of goods manufactured by MSMEs are differentiated from exports of goods related to MSMEs based on the tariff codes or ITC
For MSME-related exports, 454 items at the ITC-HS four-digit level out of total 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.
Mishra said the export data for these items also include data from large sectors. 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. During April-December FY23, the value stood at $147,060 million (43.7 per cent share in India’s total exports) as compared to $138,922 million during the year-ago period (with 45.5 per cent share in total exports), registering a growth of 5.9 per cent.
Also read: MSMEs’ share in India’s exports till August in current fiscal nears FY22 level: Govt data
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 to 7.7 per cent in FY22 amounting to $32.6 million. “It is a matter of concern though not that much,” he said. The April-December FY23 exports of MSME-manufactured goods stood at $22.4 million with a share of 6.7 per cent in $336 billion in total exports during the period.
According to Mishra, 784 items reserved for manufacturing by MSMEs at the ITC-HS 8-digit level out of 12,177 were identified by the MSME ministry, DGCI&S and DGFT. Among the top products exported in FY23 till December were basmati rice with a 40 per cent growth from the year-ago period and footwear with outer soles of rubber and plastics registering 68.6 per cent growth.
India is currently targeting around $760 billion in overall exports in FY23, up from the historic high of $676 billion in FY22, according to the data shared by Mishra. During April-January in the current fiscal, India achieved $369 billion worth merchandise exports and $272 billion worth services exports. Overall, India’s exports were at $641 billion during the April-January period viz-a-vis $547 billion during the year-ago period.