NEW DELHL: The Plague epidemic could place a number of Indian goods under quarantine, Commerce Secretary Tejinder Khanna said. All Indian Ambassadors have been asked to work on “confidence-building measures among the media, the business community and Governments.”
Mr. Khanna singled out the US as a ‘mature trade partner’ which had not so far panicked at the outbreak of plague here. He added that exports during September October would be hit not only due to the plague, but also due to a strike by customs officers.
He pointed out that a number of foreign business delegations had cancelled their visits to the country. The Commerce Secretary expected the plague fallout to particularly hit agro exports, But expense of food products are not the only ones to be badly affected.
Indian textiles and allied products accounted for Rs 28,000 crore out of the country’s total exports of Rs 70,000 crore last year, “The global media has overplayed the problem, and consequently we are faced with a situation where many of our members are receiving cancellation orders,” said Apparel Exporters and Manufacturers’ Association Secretary Shankar Majumdar,
“The term plague has a historical Connotation for our European part hers and they have panicked,” he Said, adding that Germany has ordered that all export consignments
from India be quarantined and fumigated. “A number of Swedish buying houses have also cancelled their ders placed on Indian expert Officials confirmed that ceris in Countnes were calling for fumigant of Indian export consignments al ports before these were shipped.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 7, 1994
