The commerce ministry is likely to further extend the existing foreign trade policy (FTP) beyond March 31 this year, an official said. Last year in September, the government extended the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 till March 31, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The present policy came into force on April 1, 2015.

The policy provides guidelines related to imports and exports in India. The ministry announces the policy every five years.

As part of the consultative process to formulate a new policy, various meetings with stakeholders were held by the ministry, the official said.

A separate foreign trade policy cell was created to coordinate with various officials in the formulation of the policy under the supervision of an officer of the level of joint secretary to the Government of India.

Merchandise exports during April-February 2021-22 stood at USD 374.81 billion.