The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) wrote a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asking for a clear directive for nationalised and private banks to accept inward remittances arising out of exports to Russia, pointing out that 150 ceramic manufacturers from Morbi in Gujarat are exporting tiles to Russia.
“The exporters are facing major challenges in banking, especially for the inward remittance for the goods supplied to Russia buyers. There is complete ambiguity amongst the banks whether or not to accept payments from Russia. Many Indian Nationalized and Private banks are refusing to accept the payment and acknowledging the transactions from the Russian banks to issue the BRC (Bank Realisation Certificate), simply due to lack of clarity in the matter. The exporters have approached the Indian Embassy in Russia & Reserve Bank of India, both of which have said that they have laid no restriction guidelines on the Nationalized and Private banks,” said GCCI president Hemant Shah in the letter.
The letter also said that industries in Kochi have been investing in the Russian market for the last four years. “With the global geopolitical situation changing and with the absence of ceramic supplies from European countries to Russia, the dependency of Russian buyers for the ceramic tiles has shifted from European suppliers to Indian manufacturers and this is a huge opportunity for the Indian ceramic manufacturers in Morbi,” the letter added seeking the intervention of the Union Finance Minister.
Nearly 1,000 ceramic production facilities are located in Morbi, which meets 17% of the world’s demand and generates Rs 15,000 crore in export revenue.
Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, requested on Tuesday that GCCI members organise a delegation and travel to Russia as soon as possible to take advantage of the space left open by the European companies.