New Delhi - Ten million people working in India's export sector will be out of their jobs by March as markets shrink further due to global recession, news reports said Tuesday.

"There will be 10 million job losses by March," A Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

Indian export-oriented industries, which account for about 22 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, are highly labour-intensive and employ an estimated 150 million people.

The industries include textiles and garments, gems and jewellery, handicrafts, and marine food processing.

India's exports posted a growth rate of 30.9 per cent in the first half of the 2008-2009 fiscal year from April to September, but contracted by 12.1 per cent in October, for the first time in five years.

The trend continued in November, with exports falling from 12.7 billion dollars to 11.5 billion dollars. Figures for December are yet to be released.

"I can safely say that negative growth trends will continue in December and in the next couple of months," Sakthivel said.

Europe and North America, which account for 37 per cent of India's merchandise exports, are both facing economic slowdowns. (dpa)