New Delhi | The country's merchandise exports are expected to reach USD 450 billion by the end of this fiscal despite geo-political challenges like the Red Sea crisis, newly elected president of apex exporters body FIEO Ashwani Kumar said on Tuesday.

He said that the need of the hour is to address the Red Sea crisis challenges by ensuring the availability of marine insurance and rational increase in freight charges.

The exporting sector, particularly, MSMEs, needs easy and low-cost credit, and marketing support to further boost the country's exports, Kumar said, adding early conclusion of free trade agreements such as with the UK and Oman will also help push the outbound shipments.

"I will focus on addressing issues of MSMEs as they are going to play. They will play a key role in achieving the USD 1 trillion goods export target by 2030. They are the backbone of the economy and they are facing certain issues pertaining to credit. I would urge banks to come forward in extending support to these units," Kumar said.

Further, the FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations) president said that the organisation is also working on exploring more opportunities for exporters in regions like Latin America and Africa.

"Though there are challenges, I am sure that we will touch USD 450 billion exports this fiscal," he added.

He also said that despite issues, exports rose about 12 per cent in February to USD 41.40 billion. During April-February 2023-24, exports reached USD 395 billion.

"This was an impressive increase despite the Red Sea crisis, tight monetary stance by the developed world and falling commodity prices. This reflects the resilience of the exporting community, who have continuously been braving such odds since the Russia-Ukraine war," he said.

The main drivers of merchandise export growth in February include engineering goods, electronic goods, organic and inorganic chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and petroleum products