The Hindu Business Line : CII calls for greater trade ties with Japan

AHEAD of the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Junichiro Koizumi's high-profile visit to India on April 28, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has called for greater bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

According to a CII paper, 45 per cent of Japan's international trade is with Asia, although India's share is a meagre one per cent of that pie, with China retaining the largest share at 34 per cent of the Asian market.

As a destination of exports, Japan's share has been declining. The paper has, however, stated that assuming India's total trade maintains a CAGR of 14.29 per cent, Indo-Japan trade will have to grow at a CAGR of 27.3 per cent to achieve six per cent share in India's total trade by 2010. The paper points out that India's export basket to Japan is heavily "skewed".

The top four categories constituted more than 50 per cent of the exports in FY 2004 and the next six categories accounted for 21 per cent of the total exports to Japan, said a CII statement. India's top export commodities to Japan include natural cultured pearls and gems and jewellery, fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, ores, slag and ash, mineral fuels, minerals oils, organic chemicals, cotton, clothing accessories, nuclear reactors, opticals, photographic accessories etc.

Fish exports, which was the second largest category in the nineties and largest since FY00, have declined at a CAGR of 23 per cent since FY 01.

According to the CII study, some commodities such as organic chemical, mineral fuels and mineral oils, nuclear reactors and boilers, optical, photographic and cinematographic equipment, electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof have shown impressive growth in the past few years.

The recommended commodities for enhancing India's exports to Japan, according to the paper, are edible fruit and nuts, cereals, oil seeds, fruits etc, mineral fuels, mineral oils, organic chemicals, pharmaceutical products, plastics and articles thereof, articles of leather and harness, footwear, gaiters, iron and steel, among others.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page