SMEs find gold in new markets as US tariffs bite

NEW DELHI: Indian small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) efforts to diversify from the high-tariff US market to hitherto unexplored countries such as Togo, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Uganda, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Kenya, Bahrain and Poland have earned them “significant” premium for their goods from new vendors as compared to traditional American buyers.

- Rajeev Jayaswal

“In recent Reverse Buyer Seller Meets (RBSM) in Vizag and Pune this month, new buyers offered better rates for Indian products than traditional buyers. For example, buyers from Zimbabwe, Rwanda and some other countries offered $2-$4 more for a piece of shirt as compared to the American buyers. The US tariffs have opened new markets for us,” India SME Forum president Vinod Kumar said.

Without naming the Indian garment manufacturer, Kumar said a small entrepreneur who used to export formal shirts to the US for $6-8 apiece, could negotiate a sample procurement of 50,000 pieces at around $10 per piece. “High tariffs imposed by the US did hit India’s garment exports to America, but it also opened up new opportunities,” he said.