Pravin Kabra, Managing Director, Prabhat Udyog

Staff Reporter | 30 Apr, 2008
Stating that the rupee appreciation has come as a major dampener for exporters, Pravin Kabra, Managing Director, Prabhat Udyog, in an exclusive interview to SME Times said that due to this trend the exporters' "long-standing competitiveness in international market has been challenged."

Excerpts of the interview...  

The rupee has appreciated considerably against the US dollar. Considering the fact that bulk of the transactions are done in dollars how has, if any, the appreciation of the rupee affected your business?
Pravin Kabra: Rupee appreciation must have sounded celebration bells to lot of Indians but for exporters like us, we have lost on huge chunks of our profits. Our long-standing competitiveness in international market has been challenged. With the rupee taking the best form, our profits have dropped and opportunities have been lost due to devalued pricing of our products.

What are the steps taken by Prabhat Udyog to negate the effects of the rising rupee?
Pravin Kabra: With the rising rupee we have become more aggressive towards hedging techniques. We have allotted more time in understanding the day to day trends in rupee appreciation. Proper planning, speculated risk and expertise consultation have reduced our risks to a greater extent. Our constant discussions with our banker have also added to the support.  

You have a wide range of products which you export, ranging from food products and FMCG to medical and other equipment. How does Prabhat Udyog see to it that there is no conflict of business strategies?
Pravin Kabra: Firstly Prabhat Udyog has been more dynamic in developing and exporting food products and commodities in the chain of exports, hence we have majorly one strategy to penetrate into our existing markets. Further our other divisions of exports are also include sourcing & tender participation which are completely parallel to the same activities of exports. We have integrated ourselves with specialised professionals who manage each products individually in order to avoid any conflict or deviation from the strategic idea.

Which are your key export markets/ countries? What are the hurdles you face while doing business with these countries?
Pravin Kabra: Currently we feel that African countries like Angola, Liberia, Ethiopia, South Africa, Mozambique etc. and Middle East countries like Iraq, Iran, UAE ,Saudi Arabia, etc. are the most promising markets for many years to come. These markets come with great opportunities but bigger risks as well. Price competency is the top priority in supplying to these countries. Due to the lack of manufacturing units in many of the African countries, they emerge as the biggest markets for exporters.

Maintaining the quality of products is of utmost importance. There have been several cases where Indian goods have been sent back from several European nations for not complying with the international standards. What does Prabhat Udyog do to see that the international quality of its goods are maintained?
Pravin Kabra: We are a regular exporter of jute products, biscuits and medical equipment to the EU countries. Certainly being an ISO 9001:2000 certified company and registered with the Dun & Bradstreet we are well equipped with quality enhancements at every point of time. We have stages of quality check before a product leaves our packing unit. Our expertise and trained professionals are at par in evaluating day to day quality parameters. Till now we have never faced any such challenges related to the quality of our products and we will constantly monitor our activities to maintain the same.

The export sector is currently going through a slow phase. What is Prabhat Udyog doing to keep its business profitable? What is the USP of Prabhat Udyog's products?
Pravin Kabra: Exports are surely going through a slow phase, but to meet the profitability we have intensified product development in a big way which can be called our USP. Brand development has been taken up as priority where chain of products fall under the same brand. Prabhat Udyog has been constantly increasing its quality and price parameters to meet the market demands.

How do you see the government's role as a facilitator of the export community? Do you feel the government/ authorities are doing enough for the industry?
Pravin Kabra: Marginally, the government is yet to make an impact on exporters by allowing liberal rules and benefiting incentives. With the rupee appreciating against dollar, the scope of exports has been hit tremendously, but the supporting incentives announced by the govt. is minuscule. Further many of them are still not put under practice. Govt still needs to provide hassle-free documentation and working procedure to the exporters so that more and more exports can be undertaken every year and young exporters can also participate. Further the port authorities should also work on the transition time during the shipment which is beyond the control of the exporters.  

What are the future plans of Prabhat Udyog in terms of expansion and exploring newer markets?
Pravin Kabra: Currently we are opening few offices in Africa and the Middle East where we can market our products more intensely. We have started a new division of tender participation wherein we are actively participating in world bank funded tenders in Africa. We are sure it will add to the value of our company. We shall soon revise our strategies of marketing our products across few countries meeting the demand and we will emphasise on brand development. We have also tied up with few advertising companies for brand promotion activities.

In the coming days what are the steps you feel the government/ authorities should take to help the industry?
Pravin Kabra: The government needs to understand the urgent need to restructure the port facilities offered to an exporter. With India emerging as a world market for production and industry, price competency is a priority and with the dollar weakening, this is the first challenge to be met. The government needs to revise the incentives' structure which are enhanced and easily attainable. Higher import rate needs to be permitted at reduced duties in order to evolve with lower raw material costs.

Has e-business changed the way you do business now? What are the hurdles you face while doing business online?
Pravin Kabra: E-business has come in as a boom to the economy. In fact it plays a vital role in the countries growth. With faster access to Internet and calls, deals have gone successfully in no time. With e-business concepts flourishing and new e-marketing concepts emerging, our race to success has been shortened. We need to emphasise on e-business in order to reduce cost and for speedy outcomes.

Though e-business can be problematic sometimes when you are projecting yourself to an unknown customer, still there are easy ways to avoid them too. Business online through e-business portals and B2B websites have given exporters a bigger world to explore.