Knitwear exporters have reiterated their demand for a separate chapter for the export sector in RBI monetary policy.
“Our demand for a separate chapter is mainly to protect the sector from increasing credit rates by delinking the sector with the base rate system being followed by banks. Before switching over to the base rate system, the banks followed the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR), wherein a specific reduction in interest rate was available to the export sector. Exporters no longer enjoy this benefit,’’ said A. Sakthivel, President, Tirupur Exporters’ Association.
Their plea for a separate chapter comes in the wake of the mid-quarter review of monetary policy for 2012-13 scheduled for March 19.
“At this juncture, we would like to request the Union Finance Minister to support and help the export sector by announcing a separate chapter and fixing the interest rate at 7.5 per cent to make the sector globally competitive,’’ he said.