India-EU Trade Grows 22%

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Over US$100 billion for first time

May 30 – Bilateral trade between India and the European Union went beyond US$100 billion for the first time last year, showing a growth of some 22 percent over the previous year. India’s Commerce Ministry released the data last week, showing US$110 billion worth of trade, up from US$90 billion the previous year. Of this, India imported US$57 billion and exported US$53 billion worth of goods.

India’s export figures to the European Union, while good, still grew at a less than average norm compared to the global trend for India, with a 21 percent global export increase for the same period. India’s exports to the European Union grew at 13 percent, attributable to the general economic malaise within the bloc. Of the EU members, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands showed the largest growth in India trade, while Italy and France both slowed down.

“The overall picture for India is positive, and is further assisted by a relatively weak rupee, giving buyers more bang for their buck. Coupled with an increasingly expensive China and more liberal economic policies being introduced in India, we are seeing a trend of FDI in the India trade and manufacturing space increasing and this is borne out by the Ministerial data,” comments Chris Devonshire-Ellis, founding partner of Dezan Shira & Associates.

Dezan Shira & Associates is a boutique professional services firm providing foreign direct investment business advisory, tax, accounting, payroll and due diligence services for multinational clients in India. For more information, please contact india@dezshira.com, visit www.dezshira.com, or download the firm’s brochure here.