Government seeks industry feedback to address trade barriers, compliance challenges and logistics issues as it targets $1 trillion in merchandise exports by FY31.

The Department of Commerce is developing comprehensive export strategy papers for 20 shortlisted focus markets, identifying product-specific opportunities, market-specific challenges and required policy interventions to support India's objective of achieving $1 trillion in merchandise exports by FY2030-31.

As part of the exercise, the Department has invited detailed feedback from exporters, industry associations and export promotion councils on issues including tariff barriers, regulatory requirements, logistics bottlenecks, sustainability standards and payment-related concerns.

According to sources, the initiative aims to prepare actionable export strategies for each market, with recommendations tailored to sectors and products where India has the potential to expand its market share.

At the same time, the Department is working on measures to help services exports contribute towards the broader target of $1 trillion in merchandise exports and $2 trillion in combined goods and services exports by 2030-31.

Twenty Priority Export Markets Identified

The 20 priority markets identified by the government include:

• United States
• Brazil
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Russia
• UAE
• Saudi Arabia
• South Africa
• China
• Japan
• South Korea
• Australia
• Singapore
• Indonesia
• Vietnam
• Bangladesh

The six high-growth sectors identified for export expansion are:

• Engineering goods
• Electronics
• Textiles
• Pharmaceuticals
• Chemicals and plastics
• Agriculture and allied products

As part of the consultations, exporters have also been asked to rank the most significant challenges they face, including tariff disadvantages, technical regulations, product standards and certification requirements, difficulties in accessing buyers and distribution networks, price competition, logistics constraints and limited market intelligence.

According to sources, the government is also gathering feedback on whether Indian exporters face competitive disadvantages against rivals that benefit from preferential access under free trade agreements. The findings are expected to help formulate future trade agreement strategies that provide a level playing field for Indian exporters.

Focus on Compliance and Logistics

A major component of the exercise is assessing the impact of increasingly stringent compliance requirements in overseas markets.

Exporters have been requested to provide information on challenges related to product testing and certification, traceability requirements, packaging and labelling regulations, environmental and social compliance standards, and emerging carbon-reporting obligations.

The Department is also collecting feedback on whether Indian testing reports and certifications receive full acceptance in export markets or require additional verification.

The consultations are expected to provide a clearer assessment of logistics and supply-chain bottlenecks affecting India's export competitiveness, including high freight costs, container shortages, port congestion, trans-shipment delays, long transit times and higher insurance costs.