ROLE OF

EXPORT PROMOTION AGENCIES

IN
INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Presentation by
R. ASOKAN
Jt. Director
FEDERATION OF INDIAN EXPORT ORGANISATIONS
Southern Region
Sourcing Names and Addresses of Importers

Sources are:
 
(a) who are visiting India for their purchases,
(b) the exporters come across the importers during
their export promotional tours abroad and
(c) followed by letters of importers showing interest in
importing goods from India
(d) Buying House Agents
(e) important Websites available in the Internet
 Role Of Export Promotion Organisations
The Government of India have established a number of
institutions and organisations and Corporations for
promoting exports from India. Export Promotion
Organisations and Institutions can broadly be classified into
the following categories:
 
- Government Departments
- Export Promotion Councils / Commodity
Boards
- Service Institutions
- Inspection Agencies
- Export Corporations.
 Service Institutions

•Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

•India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)
•Director General of Foreign Trade 
•Indian Council of Arbitration
•Indian Institute of Packaging
•Export Import Bank (EXIM Bank)
•Export Inspection Council (EIC)
•Textiles Committee
 Survey of Target Markets
Information on prospective markets is vital, both for new as
well as established exporters interested in enhancing their
exports. The following key details regarding the potential
markets are essential to exporters—
•Size of the market
•Growth prospects
•Market preferences
•Demand supply gap
•Current suppliers.
Such preliminary market information will help exporters in
identifying potential markets for their products.
 Trade Enquiries
After gaining an understanding of the market for
their products, the next requirement of exporters is to
identify trade enquiries. Though there are a number
of sources providing such information, there is need
for a single source to monitor all business
opportunities and trade enquiries emanating globally.
In addition, exporters are also interested in posting
their trade offers to prospective partners abroad.
 Product Development and Fashion Trends

This is a key requirement for exporters keen on benchmarking their

products with the best available globally. In industries like leather and
apparel, this information is critical for the local exporters to plan their
raw material procurement, well in advance of the season, to suit the
future requirements of the market.
 
Customer preferences in electronics industry also reported to be fast
changing and exporters would need to fine-tune their product features
to stay in business.
 
This information may not be critical to small exporters who are mostly
job order dependent, wherein the overseas buyer dictates the product
specifications and features.
 Credit Appraisal of Trading Partners

Traditionally, overseas trading partners are either

identified through personal visits abroad or through
agents and brokers. With the evolution of the Internet
as a medium for identifying trade opportunities, it
becomes increasingly important to examine the credit-
worthiness of the identified buyer before exporting the
products. This step is very essential for Indian
exporters to safeguard themselves from unreliable
trading partners abroad.
 Regulations/Tariffs relating to Imports and Exports

Globally, countries are forced to modify their

trade policies to suit the dynamically changing
business scenario. Exporters feel the need for a
single source providing country-wise updated
import and export policies. This would also
help them in identifying markets in countries
with favourable import policies.
 Current Sources—
Publications of Industry Associations and Bodies.
Mailers and Bulletins from Export Promotion Councils &
FIEO
Online Data Sources -- The Federation of Indian Chambers
of Commerce and Industry makes available its online
database. ASSOCHAM, CII, FIEO have also established a
databank for the benefit of its members.
Overseas Trade Journals
Industry Specific Pages
Port Based Information on Exports and Imports
 Trade and Business Enquiries
Some of the reputed sources for global trade
enquiries include
 
•Import-Export Bulletin Board (IEBB) /
STAT-USA
•Reuters Network for Tenders
•World Trade Center (WTC) Network
 Country Profiles and Import Export Policies

With the emergence of the global market, it is essential for

Indian exporters to know about a country’s political climate and
future of its economy before deciding g on any long-term
business relationships. Sites providing reliable information on
countries include:
Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU)
Price Waterhouse
I-TRADE (IT)
These sites are well updated and comprehensive. Sites like EIU
also provide a rating on risks associated with trading with a
country based on its current economic performance and is likely
future.
 Latest Traded Prices of Certain Commodities

Latest traded price information in important global

markets is important for exporters of leather and
agricultural products. International Trade Center
(ITC), Geneva, regularly monitors trade prices and
forwards the same to subscribers through email.
 Credit Appraisal

Credit appraisal is a key requirement for medium and small-

scale exporters, for which the internationally recognized
sources are:
 
•Dun & Bradstreet (D&B)
•TRW
 
TRW is an important source for information on small and
medium sized companies.
POPULAR CREDIT RATNG AGENCIES WORLDWIDE

•  
– Alexander and Hamilton International custom credit reporting
– http://www.alhamco.com/english/credit_reporting.html
http://www.alhamco.com/english/credit_reporting.html
– Canadian Credit Reporting Ltd. Canadian-based, investigative credit reporting agency, operating out of Toronto
– http://www.canadiancredit.com
http://www.canadiancredit.com//
– China Credit Information Service Credit reporting for Taiwanese companies
– http://www.credit.com.tw/english.cfm
http://www.credit.com.tw/english.cfm
– http://www.cofacerating.com
http://www.cofacerating.com// A global credit rating system, rating the security of the trade debt of any company. "Trade debt"
means any debt up to 6 months, in the 1,000-100,000 euros (or USD) range, which is the range of most of e-commerce
transactions,
– http://www.cofacerating.com
http://www.cofacerating.com//
– Credit Exchange Company that offers various credit and collection services specific to the transportation industry
– http://www.creditexchange.com
http://www.creditexchange.com//
– Credit FYI Credit reports for small US businesses with sales less than $5 million
– http://www.creditfyi.com
http://www.creditfyi.com//
– Credit Information Reports from Business Credit Management UK Complete UK companies credit reporting service
– http://www.creditman.co.uk
http://www.creditman.co.uk//
– Credit Management Information & Support Links to most credit reporting agencies and other credit management Web sites
– http://www.creditworthy.com
http://www.creditworthy.com//
– Credit Report Latin America & World Credit reports from Latin America and other countries
– http://www.crla.com
http://www.crla.com//
– Credit Risk Monitor Online Internet based financial information and news service that follows almost 400 U.S. publicly held retail
chains and wholesalers
– http://www.creditriskmonitor.com
http://www.creditriskmonitor.com//
– Disclosure Provider of financial intelligence delivered via online and CD-ROM-based research tools. Subscribers have access to a full
range of proprietary and third-party company information.
– http://www.disclosure.com
http://www.disclosure.com//
– Duff & Phelps Credit Rating International credit reports
– http://www.bradynet.com/e31.html
– Dun & Bradstreet Information Services Dun & Bradstreet Information Services is the world's leading provider of business to
business information and decision-support services. DBIS gathers and manages information on more than 40 million businesses
worldwide and markets its products in more than 120 countries.
– http://www.dunandbradstreet.com
http://www.dunandbradstreet.com//
– Equifax Worldwide business and consumer credit reports
– http://www.equifax.com
http://www.equifax.com//
– Experian TRW Information Systems & Services (IS&S) is a leading provider of consumer and business credit, direct marketing and
real estate information services and high-volume transaction-processing systems
– http://www.experian.com
http://www.experian.com//
POPULAR CREDIT RATNG AGENCIES WORLDWIDE

– F&D Reports Credit solutions to manufacturers, wholesalers/distributors, and retailers of food,

pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, apparel and other products.
– http://www.fdreports.com/
– FCIB International Credit and Country Report International independent credit reports
– http://www.fcibglobal.com
http://www.fcibglobal.com//
– Global Credit Reports Listings and links to local credit reporting agencies worldwide
– http://www.intl-credit.com/
http://www.intl-credit.com/
– Graydon Credit Management Services Global credit reports and credit information management services
– http://www.graydon.co.uk/
– Infospectrum Provider of credit reports and commercial research to the international business world.
– http://www.infospectrum.net/
– J.I. International Worldwide credit reports
– http://www.jiintl.com/
– Kreller International Services Worldwide credit reports
– http://www.kreller.com/
– MRC Consultancy Services Ltd. Company reports for the marine, energy, industrial, commodities and
transportation markets.
– http://www.mrcinfo.com/
– Owens On-Line Online credit information service with over 8.5 million company files
– http://www.owens.com/
– SCRL Group Credit information about all companies in France
– http://www.scrl.com/
– TCM India Credit reports for India and worldwide
– http://www.tcmindia.com/
– UK Data Ltd Online credit reports on every UK business
– http://www.ukdata.com/
– Veritas Global credit reports and country risk reports.
– http://www.veritas-usa.com/
– Whitehall Consultants International company credit reports, country risk reports, or debt collection services
– http://www.whitehallusa.com/
 International Laws
Web sites like the International Trade Law
Monitor (ITL) provide region and country
specific trade related laws, useful to exporters
trying to access the legal impacts of entering new
markets and to identify friendly markets.
 Import and Export Statistics
Databases like Datastar and Dialog provide details of
exports and imports from major ports in the USA and
Europe. New exporters facing the requirement of
pricing their products often find it useful to know the
price quoted by fellow exporters in the industry.
 
A common problem in the use of this information by
some exporters to undercut prices and gain unfair
competitive advantage.
 Trade Market Surveys
Survey of market potential for products in
markets is an essential requirement for
exporters exploring possibilities in new
markets and country. While sites like Datastar
and Dialog offer preliminary reports on the
market potential for products, sites like I-
TRADE offer to undertake custom market
research on behalf of interested exporters.
 Other Useful Sources
Most of the traditional sources of trade related information are
now available on the web, which is fast emerging as a
convenient means of distributing information. There are
industry specific sites like Apparelnet (for apparel industry),
which focus on the industry’s requirements. Other sites like
Asian Sources On-line focus on the requirements of a region.
The advantage of such sources is their in-depth coverage of a
sector or region.
 
While sponsored sites providing general information offer
access free of charge, sites offering reliable information often
charge access fees.
 Sector-Based Portals for Market Research

For different sector, there are very useful portal websites that
offer comprehensive information, or function as a gateway to
other sources on the Internet. They should be the starting
point for the data mining efforts. These portal sites
characteristically offer industry news, information about
product development, business directories and, sometimes, a
buyers and sellers platform. Usually, they also provide
information about existing new or upcoming regulations.
Some examples of interesting portals are:
 www.autonewseurope.com (car parts)
 www.devicelink.com (medical devices)
 www.fis.com (seafood)
 www.fruitnet.com (fruits)
www.flowerweb.com (flowers)
www.organics.com (organic products)
 www.freshinfo.com (fresh food)
 www.foodnavigator.com (processed food)
 www.herbs.org (herbs and spices)
 www.leathernet.com (leather)
 www.organic-europe.net (organic products)
Information about portal websites can often be obtained from traditional
printed media, like the trade press, or from other online sources, like the CBI
website’s link plaza or the International Trade Centre (ITC) tool P-maps (
www.p-maps.org).
 Generic Market Information Portals

CBI and ITC provide generic market information

portals, covering a large number of product groups
and a wide range of themes. Particular reference is
made to the statistical tool of ITC’s P-maps
(Tradingmap) and CBI’s market information
database and link plaza. Use of CBI’s databases is
free of charge. Subscription to ITC’s p-maps differs.
For details browse – www.cbi.nl; www.p-maps.org
 Search Engines
To know information about a portal site, reference may be
made to the trade magazines for Internet links and use one of
the international search engines. Google (www.google.com) is
currently the most popular search engine. Keep in mind that
while using the search engine, it is best to use the advanced
search option in order to filter the results and to keep them
manageable. The methodology is “Input is output”. A general
question will lead to general results. It is better to formulate
the search as accurately as possible.
 Country Information
Many sources on the Internet provide macro-economic
country data. Country Reports (
www.countryreports.org), for instance, is a database
with country information covering practically any
country in the world and offering relevant and fairly
up-to-date macro data. Other country information
can be obtained from Eurostat, the datashop of the
European Union (www.europa.eu.int)/index_en.htm)
and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) (www.oecd.org).
 Market Size, Trade Statistics
Information about market size, segments and developments is included in
the market reports downloadable from the CBI website. These kind of
information are also available in articles and reports on portal sites or on
websites of industry associations. The link plaza on the CBI’s website
includes links to sector-based portal sites and industry associations. Trade
statistics are also available (though not free of charge) through Eurostat.
For agricultural products, Faostat, the statistical database of the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations provides a very
useful source for trade as well as production statistics. Search filters
include product, market, volume and value as well as multipleyears
selection. The Faostat database is free of charge (http://
www.fao.org/waicent/portal/statistics.en.asp).
 Standards and Legislation
Information about safety & health, social and environmental
issues, as well as other legislation and product standards, is
available through the CBI’s market information and Access
guide database or from the European Commission’s database,
Eur-lex (www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex).
 
Some of the main sources of information for the food industry
on food sAfety are www.codexalimentarius.net and
htpp://foodnet.fie.ca (one can download the full HACCP
manual).
 Import Duties
The European Commission has also
published a database with all import
duties on the Internet. To search by
product and country of origin browse.
www.europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_cus
toms/index_en.htm
 Market Players
Information about market players, importers, wholesalers,
retailers and manufacturers as well as competitors is available
from market reports. Online business directories and trade
fair catalogues are also helpful in this respect (often available
online at the website of the tradefair organizer), Business
directories can be found on sector-based portals. There are
also generic business directories. The most important generic
online directories are Europages (www.europages.com) and
Kompass (www.kompass.com). Business directories offer
multiple search filters, like product group, market, company
type or company size.
 Prices
Some interesting sources for price information are—
 

www.public-ledger/com - (Commodities). Check the site for

the subscription fee.
 

www.todaymarket.com – The today market website offers a

free trial for 7 days. Subcriptin is US$ 25 per month.
 

www.fintrac.com/gain/prices - This is the website of the

Global Agribusiness Information Network. It provides
information about wholesale fruits, vegetables, herbs and
flower prices free of charge for various markets in the United
States, Latin America, Europe and Japan. Depending on the
market selection, the information can be one to seven days
old.
 

www.p-maps.org - The ITC’s p-maps contain Market News

Services with wholesale import prices for selected commodities.
Subscription prices vary.
 Distribution Channels
•Information on distribution channels can be obtained
from market reports (like the CBI’s) and from the
industry associations.
 
Trade Fairs
 
•Information about trade fairs all over the world can
be obtained free of charge from the following
databases. www.tsnn.com and
www.exhibitions-world.com.
For more details about FIEO
Kindly
Kindly contact
contact
FIEO
FIEO Southern
Southern Region
Region Office
Office
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Plaza, Unit
Unit No.706,
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769, Anna
Anna Salai,
Salai, Chennai
Chennai 600002
600002
Phone:
Phone: 044
044 28497766
28497766 // 2849
2849 7755
7755
Fax:
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044 2849
2849 6666
6666
Email:
Email: fieosr@giasmd01.vsnl.net.in
fieosr@giasmd01.vsnl.net.in