Govt to rethink if exporters' package doesn't work

WASHINGTON: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said if the package offered to exporters in the wake of the appreciation of the rupee against the US dollar is not sufficient, the government would have to think of ways to help them tide over the rest of the year.

"It (rise of rupee) has some consequences, particularly for exporters," Chidambaram said.

"Exporters have been taken by surprise. We offered them a package a couple of months ago but if that is not adequate then we would have to think of ways and means by which they can be given a helping hand to tide over the rest of the year," he added.

"But in the medium to the long run, exporters would have to learn to hedge to reprice their export contracts in tune with exchange rates," the Finance Minister said.

Chidambaram would not answer the query if the government was thinking of intervening to buy American dollars so as to get over this situation.

"Monetary policy is the province of the Reserve Bank of India. Even if I give advice which I rarely do, I would give it privately to the Governor (of RBI)," the Minister added.

Chidambaram was on a brief visit to Washington from New York yesterday. During the course of the trip, the Minister had a luncheon meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, spent time with the editorial staff at Bloomberg and addressed the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He left Washington for New York later in the evening.

He maintained that his meeting with the US Treasury Secretary was a general review of matters.