New Delhi: Government on May 6 said it was optimistic of sustaining a high double digit export growth in the current year, following assurance by exporters that they would be able to sustain the last fiscal's export performance.

"Exporters have expressed optimism about sustaining the last financial year's performance," commerce secretary Dipak Chatterjee told reporters after meeting with export promotion councils and commodity boards to fix export target and strategies for 2003-04.

However, he declined to give a figure of the likely target for this year and said it would be decided after deliberations and various assessments.

India's exports, for the first time, crossed $ 51 billion mark in 2002-03, heightening the possibility of achieving the one per cent share of the world trade much ahead of the targeted 2007.

Exports touched $ 51.7 billion, recording 18.05 per cent growth in 2002-03 over $ 43.8 billion in the previous year.

Chatterjee, who chaired the meeting said all the councils had expressed optimism about growth this year and added that government did not wish to fix a target for services exports.

"Service sector is doing very well on the export front on its own. We do not wish to bind them in a target," he said and added that the May 7 meeting with services sector representatives was aimed at finding out as to what kind of support they expect from the government to continue with their performance.

PTI