The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) wrote a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday pointing out that 150 ceramic manufacturers from Morbi in Gujarat are exporting tiles to Russia and asking for a clear mandate for nationalised and private banks to accept inward remittances arising out of exports to Russia.
In the letter, GCCI president Hemant Shah stated, “The exporters are suffering significant banking difficulties, particularly with regard to the inward remittance for the goods supplied to Russian buyers. The banks are completely divided on whether or not to take payments from Russia. Due to a lack of clarity in the matter, several Indian Nationalized and Private banks are refusing to accept the payment and acknowledge the transactions from Russian banks to issue the BRC (Bank Realisation Certificate). The exporters had approached the Indian Embassy in Russia and the Reserve Bank of India, both of which had responded that they had not imposed any restrictions on the nationalised and private banks.”
Additionally, the letter stated that Kochi industries had been making investments in the Russian market for the previous four years. “With the shifting geopolitical landscape around the world and the lack of ceramic supplies from European nations to Russia, Russian buyers’ reliance on European suppliers for ceramic tiles has changed to Indian manufacturers, creating a significant opportunity for Indian ceramic manufacturers in Morbi,” the letter added, seeking the intervention of the Union Finance Minister.
Almost 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, addressed the members of the GCCI on Tuesday and urged them to organize a delegation and visit Russia as soon as to take benefit from the space vacated by the European companies.
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