'Should not be concerned much about imports as long as exports' grow'

India should not be overly concerned about imports as long as exports' share continues to grow, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Thursday. He also said the world needs to avoid protectionism which creates more trade barriers and hinders movement of goods. The secretary said that one needs to avoid the mercantilist approach and should not bother too much about trade balance and imports. "Because if the Indian economy is growing at 7 per cent and if the world is growing at 3-3.5 per cent rate of growth then obviously India will be requiring more of consumption, more of imports and let me tell you that the role of imports in exports is also very very important," he said at a CII event. Imports of raw materials and intermediate products are essential, he said. "As long as we are able to improve our exports share, we should not be too much concerned about imports and that is what I feel that we need to avoid," he added. Further, Barthwal said developed countries are confused