The Hindu Business Line : India moves ahead in merchandise imports

India has moved way ahead in the pack of the world's 30 leading importers in merchandise trade in 2005. It has moved to the 17th slot from the 24th position it held in 2004, even as it accounts for a minuscule 1.2 per cent share or $131.6 billion in the world imports of $10.75 trillion last year.

Excluding intra-European Union trade among its 25 members, India's position in 2005 moved to 11th place from 16th in 2004, according to a report released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva. However, in merchandise exports, India emerged a shade better in 2005 by inching from the 30th slot to the 29th position. India's exports at $89.8 billion with a share of 0.9 per cent in 2005 registered a growth of 19 per cent. At $90 billion of merchandise exports, India clocked an average increase of 9 per cent during 2000-05 in export growth, against China which with exports of $762 billion in 2005 grew at an average of 25 per cent during the five-year period.

At $132 billion in merchandise imports, India registered an average increase of 21 per cent during 2000-05, against China which with imports of $660 billion in 2005 notched up an average 24 per cent growth during the five-year span.

Services exports

In services exports, India earned $68 billion with an annual average growth of 33 per cent during 2000-05, against China, which with services exports of $81 billion registered an annual average growth of 22 per cent during the five-year period. Services imports during 2005 amounted to $67 billion with an average annual growth of 29 per cent during 2000-05, against China's services imports of $85 billion with an average annual growth of 19 per cent during the five-year period.

A particularly noteworthy feature is that in world trade in commercial services, India moved from 16th place in 2004 to the 10th slot among leading exporters; in the case of leading importers, it moved from the 15th place in 2004 to the 10th place in 2005. India's share in world trade in services is 2.8 per cent, while in services imports, its share is 2.9 per cent.

Acknowledging the growing importance of services trade by India, the WTO said the performance of the 20 leading exporters of commercial services trade ranged from a minor decline in the exports of the UK to "a very high increases in the services exports (and imports) of China and India."

WTO said that even as China is estimated to have improved its ranking slightly on both exports and imports, becoming the world's eight largest exporter and seventh largest importer, "it is certain that India considerably improved its position in the ranking of services traders."

Providing a synoptic shots of the major trade developments in 2005, the world trade monitoring body said that during 2005, annual growth rates of the 30 leading importers varied between a low of 4 per cent logged by Austria to a peak of 35 per cent for India.

In 2005, the value of merchandise exports rose 13 per cent to $10.1 trillion, crossing the $10 trillion mark for the first time.

The value of world commercial services exports rose 11 per cent to $2.4 trillion.

For both merchandise and commercial services, this signified a marked deceleration in growth when compared to 2004, the WTO said, projecting that world trade might advance by 7 per cent in 2006.