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Kolkata, Sept. 30 Capexil, a multi-product export promotion council for chemical and allied products, accounting for 9 per cent of the country’s total exports, has recorded exports of Rs 18,697 crore during the first five months of the current financial year.

During 2006-07, the council achieved exports of Rs 43,559.42 crore.

Briefing newspersons here on the forthcoming golden jubilee celebrations programme of the council in Delhi on October 1, Mr Samir Ghosh, National Chairman of the Council, said the rupee appreciation coupled with rising freight costs have forced Capexil not to fix any target as such for the current year.

The council has, however, fixed a modest target of $20 billion exports by its members (numbering 4,038) during the next 10 years.

The programme is to be inaugurated by Mr Somnath Chatterjee, Lok Sabha Speaker, with the Union Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, as Chief Guest.

Mr Ghosh said the plan is to organise more buyer-seller meets abroad paving way for large buying missions coming into India.

The need of the hour, according to him, is to stress on quality and adopt the best technology available.

A membership drive has also been launched, with the figure expected to rise to 6,000 in the next year or so.

The major hurdles for achieving higher growth, Mr Ghosh said, were high cost of power, fuel, and capital, non-availability of natural gas, heavy burden of taxation and of course the continuing appreciation of the rupee vis-À-vis dollar.

The council’s exports are broadly in the two categories of minerals and non-mineral products, with as much as 56 per cent accounted for by countries in East Asia.

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