The Department of Financial Services is working with banks to facilitate clearance of pending payment which were made to Russia before February 24 -the day Russia-Ukraine conflict began, a government official said.
In March, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) had shared with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) that Indian exporters have payments of about USD 400-500 million pending in Russia.
“DGFT had shared that information with Department of Financial Services (DFS). About 60 per cent of the exporters have received their payments from Russian buyers and for the remaining, DFS is working to facilitate the payments,” the official said.”
Exporters say that some exporters have received their stuck payments, as all banks are not under sanctions but now it has stopped.
They suggest, the government should immediately start rupee-rouble trade with Russia to push exports.
“Payments are coming in sectors including pharma, and food. However, still exporters are struggling to get money from Russia. The RBI should give clear directions to the banks to accept payments from all the sectors,”
Khalid Khan, Vice President, FIEO
FIEO Director General Ajay Sahai said that while exporters are concerned about pending payments , they are not unduly worried about defaults happening as some mechanism will be found to receive back exports proceeds.
The slew of sanctions slapped by the US on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, has isolated the country from the payment systems, which is impacting settling trade payments.
Major items being exported from India to Russia include pharmaceutical products, tea, electrical machinery and equipment, organic chemicals and vehicles.
India’s exports to Russia stood at USD 3.2 billion in 2021-22 as against USD 2.7 billion in 2020-21. Imports were at USD 8.7 billion last fiscal year as against USD 7 billion in 2020-21.
