Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said although Safta had been signed recently, the negative list of items would have to be reduced to boost trade flows in the trading bloc.

"As time passes, we should attempt to improve it", he told reporters in Kolkata on the sidelines of a business summit.

He also urged the industry to hold business-to-business discussions with their counterparts in Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries in this regard.

On cooperation with Asean, Nath said India would have to strengthen its role for improving the conditions of developing countries. He also urged greater cooperation in the field of pharmaceutical sector with Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members.

The commerce minister said India's main export destinations had been the European Union and the United States. Trade with China has been phenomenal with the figure crossing the US$ one billion per month, he pointed out.

He also laid stress on the emergence of outsourcing industry as an important foreign exchange earner for the country as it was emerging as a major growth area. The manufacturing industry had also registered 12 percent growth.

Asked whether the exchange rate fluctuations would have any adverse impact on India's export prospects in the current fiscal, the minister said Indian exporters have the resilience to adjust to such changes. This would also be possible because the Indian rupee is not artificially pegged.

In the first three quarters of 2004-05, India's exports had been 17 percent higher over the same period of previous fiscal, which was US$ 66 billion.

The minister said Indian export during the ongoing fiscal is all set to exceed the target of US$93 billion.