FIEO to lead in export growths

India is working to increase its exports to China, with Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) leading businesses by participating in trade shows.

FIEO said it has been designated as a lead agency to set-up Country Pavilion in the 1st China International Import Expo (CIIE) being held 5-10 Nov 2018 in Shanghai.

FIEO along with other stakeholders like Ministry of Tourism, APEDA, NAFED, MPEDA, SEPC, Pharmexcil etc is showcasing India’s strength in diverse sectors. The focused sectors for this year in India’s Country Pavilion are Food and Agro Products, Pharmaceuticals, IT & ITes, Tourism and Services Sector.

Sectors rated as extremely important for increasing exports to China has been selected, said Dr Ajay Sahai, DG & CEO, FIEO.

Meanwhile, Indian exports to China were nominal.

India exported pharmaceutical products worth US$15.6 billion in 2017-18 but exports to China was only US$41 million, a share of 0.2%.

In marine products, exports to China was US$161 million out of total exports of US$7.4 billion, a miniscule share of 2.17%.

In agri sector also (leaving tobacco), China’s share in India’s exports is less than 2.8%.

In IT & ITES, the share is less than 1% though India exported software worth US$126 billion globally during the last fiscal.

“This provides huge opportunity to increase our exports to China which is further supported by the tariff war between US and China,” said Dr Sahai.

China is India’s largest trading partner with a total trade reaching to US$89.71 billion in 2017-18. With India’s exports of US$13.33 billion, the trade balance is highly in favor of China.

The CIIE will provide a platform for increasing India’s exports to China, said the FIEO in a release on 5 Nov 2018.

Interactions between the two sides will also expedite market access issues particularly for pharma, IT & ITES, agro and processed food etc, it said. fiinews.com

Commerce Secretary Dr Anup Wadhawan inaugurated the India Pavillion at CIIE in Shanghai on 5 Nov 2018.