Trade volume between India and China has come down by 29 per cent on a year-on-year basis, between January-March, 2009.
In spite of the drop, the total trade volume between the two countries was close to $50 billion last fiscal, against a projected trade of $45 billion, said Rajiv Yadav, executive director, India Trade Promotion Council (ITPO), on the sidelines of press meet to announce Delhi's participation at a commodity trade fair in Kunming, China.
With the balance of trade heavily skewed towards China, India's exports to China was barely one-third of the total bilateral trade last fiscal.
"Chinese exports have been severely affected by the economic downturn since January this year. According to the data compiled by the customs department in China, trade volume has come down by 29 per cent between January-March this year," said Peng Gang, counsellor (economic and commercial) Chinese embassy.
With top export destinations for India like the USA, EU and UAE, reeling under the pressure of economic downturn, the government had shifted its focus to China, said Yadav.
For the fiscal 2009-10, the trade target between India and China is $60 billion.
The Indian government has shown interest in international trade shows in China. "We are concerned about the widening trade gap between India and China. Also, we have shifted our focus for exports to China. This year we are looking for participation in various trade shows like the Canton trade fair," said Yadav. The government is pushing sectors like IT, food processing and pharmaceuticals for exports. The south Asian Countries Commodity fair is being organised by China for the second time.
