The share of MSME-related products in all India exports stood at 45.56 per cent as of September in the current financial year, informed the Minister of State in the MSME Ministry Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Importantly, India’s overall exports (merchandise and services combined) in April-September 2023 exhibited a negative growth of 2.97 per cent over April-September 2022. The exports during the six-month period last year amounted to $387.8 billion vis-a-vis $376.29 billion till September in the current fiscal, data from the commerce ministry showed.

From 49.77 per cent in FY20, the share of MSME-related products dropped to 49.35 per cent in FY21 and 45.03 per cent in FY22. It further declined to 43.59 per cent in FY23 while the value ofMSMEexports had increased to $190 billion in FY22 from $143.9 billion in FY21 and $154.8 billion in FY20.

The share of MSME-related products, however, also includes contribution from large enterprises, PrafullaChandraMishra, Former Statistical Advisor, DirectorateGeneral of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce had said at the SMExports Summit organised by FE Aspire earlier this year.

According to Mishra, exports of goods manufactured by MSMEs are differentiated from exports of goods related to MSMEs based on the tariff codes orITC-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 exports of items reserved for manufacturing by MSMEs or exclusive to MSMEs, the share in India’s total exports had 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, according to the data shared by Mishra in his presentation.

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