Indian firms will have to leave comfort zone to achieve $1 trillion export target: Piyush Goyal

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday (July 3, 2026) reiterated his target of $1 trillion of exports this year, but also said that Indian companies would have to push themselves out of their “cosy and comfortable” domestic market and actively work towards building their brands abroad. 

Speaking at the Board of Trade meeting at the Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Goyal admitted that the $1 trillion export target would be difficult to achieve, but added that it was possible since the other countries were keen to trade with India. 

“The world wants to work with us,” he said. “We have to go out and capture those world markets. Wherever I go in the world, they are very keen to work with us. It’s our industry that shows weakness. We are cosy and comfortable in our domestic market, but to get into the export market, we need scale, quality, and outreach. It will not happen by just sitting at home.”

He told the gathered export promotion councils that the government’s Export Promotion Mission would help them set up overseas branding, warehousing, and exhibitions if they needed. 

“Please demand what you need, so your products can go to developed countries and countries with whom we have Free Trade Agreements,” Mr. Goyal said.

Several trade bodies made presentations at the meeting. According to sources present during the meeting, a common demand was for greater export-related credit.

“We request the Government to engage with the Reserve Bank of India and the banking sector to restore export credit as a strategic priority, ensure adequate and timely availability of export finance at internationally competitive interest rates and encourage banks to adopt a more facilitative approach towards exporters,” the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said in its representation.

FIEO further pointed out that exports are facing a number of freight-related issues, including high ocean freight rates, inadequate availability of containers and vessel space, and the levy of multiple “non-transparent and arbitrary” charges by shipping lines and their agents. 

These factors, it added, substantially increase logistics costs and reduce the competitiveness of Indian exports. 

“We request the Government to accord high priority to this issue by engaging with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, the Directorate General of Shipping and other stakeholders to evolve a framework that ensures greater transparency and reasonableness in freight-related charges, improves container and vessel availability for Indian export cargo, and facilitates regular dialogue between exporters and shipping lines,” FIEO said.