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Our Bureau

Eight-fold rise witnessed in 12 years; doubling of exports in 2 yrs

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Kolkata Feb. 23 India's trade with the 10-member ASEAN Bloc plus Australia and New Zealand is expected to surpass the target of $30 billion by the end of 2007.

Delivering the theme address at a national workshop on `India-ASEAN trade relations and emerging opportunities', jointly organised by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) and ICICI Bank here on Friday, Mr R.P. Sehgal, Regional Chairman of the council, said trade with ASEAN had risen from $2.4 billion in 1990 to $23 billion in 2005-06.

He said India-ASEAN trade accounted for an average 8 per cent of India's total trade in the last three years, and that it had grown eight times from 1993-94 to reach $23 billion in 2005-06 Engineering exports to ASEAN have also doubled from $1.14 billion in 2003-04 to $2.5 billion in 2005-06.

However, despite the geographical proximity, India's engineering exports to the region is just over 1 per cent of the total ASEAN engineering imports from outside the Bloc, indicating a huge potential for growth.

He said among the ASEAN countries, Singapore enjoyed the lion's share of India's exports, to the extent of 52 per cent ($1.13 billion in 2005-06), followed by Indonesia at 13.26 per cent ($325.91 million), Malaysia 11.6 per cent ($33.69 million) and Thailand at 10.3 per cent ($318.99).

Multi-product team

The EEPC, he said, was taking a multi-product delegation to Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand in September this year.

Pointing out that engineering exports today accounted for 20 per cent of India's total exports of $100 billion, Mr Rakesh Shah, National Chairman of EEPC, said the council was now targeting industrial production of $200 billion and engineering exports of $100 billion within the next 10 years, as advised by the President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, while addressing the EEPC members at the council's Golden Jubilee programme recently.

`Exciting opportunities'

Mr Shah said the ASEAN region, with a population of 545 million, combined GDP of nearly $800 billion, total trade of around $850 billion and growth rates predicted to be well above the global average in the coming years, held exciting commercial opportunities for Indian businesses.

This, coupled with the economic strengths of Australia and New Zealand, brings with it new possibilities of economic exchanges between India and ASEAN plus two countries.

He felt this should give a major boost to export of a whole range of industrial products, mineral products, base metals and metal articles from India.

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