Boycotting Chinese products may not be feasible: FIEO

Boycotting Chine se pr oducts may not be f easible f or Ind ia as the domestic industry is dependent on inputs fr om the ne ighbouring country, FIEO said.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S K Saraf said tha t India needs to be cautious while banning or restricting Chinese goods.

It is "not feasib le as we are dependent so muc h o n Chinese products," he told reporters.

India can cut its dependence on

Chinese g oods only w hen it becomes self-reliant and star t producing same goods in India or source from other markets.

In the wak e of increasing border tensions betw een the tw o countries, v oices are g etting stronger to restrict or boycott Chinese goods in the country.

He ad ded that it should b e l eft with the p eople wh ether they want to b uy Chinese goods or not.

FIEO Dir ector General Aja y Sahai said "knee jer k" r eaction on Chinese goods is not good.

According to the federation, India's exports to China grew from USD 16.5 to US D 16.95 billion in 2019 while imports declined from 73.8 billion to 68.2 billion in 2019.

Similarly, I ndia's expor ts to Hong Kong in 2019 s tood at USD 11.5 billion as against imports of USD 17.3 billion imports.

"We need to look into the totality of trade with China and Hong Kong. Much dependence on China can be r educed with s hort to long term plans," Saraf added.

Meanwhile, some exporters have raised concer ns o ver consignments being held bac k b y Hong Kong and Chinese customs in response to a s imilar action allegedly being t aken by Indian authorities at Chenna i por t, FIEO said on Thursday.

The matter assumes s ignificance in the wake of border tensions bet ween India and China at Gal wan V alley in easte rn

Ladakh.

"We have b een given to understand that customs is ph ysically examining all imports from China which is dela ying c learance, adding to the co st of impor ts," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FI EO) Pr esident S K Saraf said in a l etter t o Commerce Secr etary An up W adhawan.

He said tha t some exp orters have informed that, in r esponse to suc h action, Hong K ong and Chinese customs ar e also hol ding bac k export consignments from India.