Any decision to restrict trade with Turkey, in response to its blatant support to Pakistan during India’s recent anti-terror operations, is unlikely to dent prospects of Indian exporters significantly, barring a handful of items mostly from the engineering goods sector.
“The government has not taken a call on restricting trade with Turkey although the trading community from various parts of the country is calling for it. As India’s exports to Turkey account for just about 1.5 per cent of the country’s total exports, restrictions are unlikely to affect total exports. However, a few items, mostly engineering goods, may take a hit,” a source tracking the matter told businessline.
Traders in States such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have called for boycott of Turkey’s apples and marble, following reports on how the country helped Pakistan during India’s Operation Sindoor last week, by supplying it with sophisticated drones.
Turkey’s foreign affairs ministry had also criticised India after it targeted 9 terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan on May 7 in response to terrorists killing 26 civilians in Pahalgam, on April 22. Turkey called India’s strikes “unprovoked aggression” and said that Operation Sindoor raised the “risk of an all-out war.”
An online campaign calling to “Boycott Turkey” is also on across Indian social media platforms.
Minor dent
India’s exports to Turkey were valued at $5.2 billion during April-Feb 2024-25, which was 14.83 per cent lower than exports worth $6.65 billion the previous fiscal. India’s exports to Turkey account for only about 1.5 per cent of the it total exports.
India’s top exports to the country include engineering products such as aircraft, spacecraft and parts, electric machinery and equipment, auto components, industrial machinery and products of iron and steel.
India imported products worth $2.84 billion from Turkey in April-Feb 2024-25, as against $3.78 billion in 2023-24. It accounted for only about 0.5 per cent of India’s total imports.