India - Trade Thread

[briker]

IU's Edit - The thread name has been changed. Please use this thread for all news related to foreign trade and investment.

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24th August 2009

South Africa and India both agree that their bilateral relationship is a strategic one, South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies told a press conference on Monday.

“India is already South Africa’s tenth largest foreign investor,” he highlighted. “Trade between our two countries tripled between 2003 and 2007. We believe that we can do more.”

“We have observed that Indian companies are quite quick to move from supplying products into investing in South Africa,” he stressed. “It is a necessity for us that this happens. There are very significant opportunities in the South African economy for investment in a number of areas. This is something we’d want to encourage.”

He also referred to South African companies investing in India, such as the Airports Company South Africa, which is involved in a joint venture controlling and redeveloping Mumbai Airport.

He admitted that the bilateral Investment Protection Agreement between the two countries, which “we have been working on for some time” is, at the moment, “more-or-less stalled.”

However, “we are undertaking an internal review” of the proposed agreement, which “will be completed within a few weeks,” he assured.

“Then we will re-engage” with the Indian negotiating team.
“South-South trade is assuming a growing and increasing importance,” stressed Davies.

“Already it is touching 36% of global trade,” he said, quoting the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He added that he believed that as a result of the current global recession, that proportion would soon reach 50%.

Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter

[briker]

Progress, opportunities, but also issues in India-SA trade relations

24th August 2009

Despite impressive progress, and although there are great opportunities still to be exploited, there remain a number of important issues that have to be resolved to allow bilateral South African and Indian trade and investment to achieve its full potential, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma tells Engineering News Online.

“There are a number of issues,” he says. “The question of connectivity remains an issue,” referring to such matters as sea and air transport links, which remain inadequate.

Nor is there yet an agreement between the two countries to protect their respective investments in each other’s jurisdictions. “We are looking at the bilateral Investment Protection Agreement,” reports Sharma, which has not yet been concluded.

India and the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu), of which South Africa is a member, are also currently negotiating a preferential trade agreement (PTA). Sharma hopes for the “early conclusion of the India-Sacu PTA”.

Regarding opportunities, he argues that these exist in “all sectors where the two countries have competitive advantages”.

In a speech to Indian and South African CEOs on Monday, he cited the fact that, in purchasing power parity terms, India is the fourth-largest economy in the world. Referring to trade between all developing countries, he emphasised that “The countries of the South have trade in excess of $2-trillion. Today, 63% of the world’s growth is from developing countries, 50% from Asia. This is bound to increase.”

Sharma asserted that “both our countries have competitive advantages in many sectors” and identified those sectors in which India has such advantages as information technology, pharmaceuticals, the automotive industry and services. “India is a net exporter of services. But India is also a huge importer of services,” he highlighted. “It almost evens out.”

He pointed out that Indian investment in South Africa now totalled $2,5-billion. He also referred to South African companies investing in India, particularly in the financial sector, although he also cited SABMiller which has the second-largest market share in India. “But we should be doing more."

Bilateral trade, which had been effectively nonexistent before 1994, has now reached $7-billion. No less than $2-billion of this is accounted for by Indian imports of South African gold. He also remarked that “four out of every five diamonds pass through Indian hands”.

He reported that the two governments had established a target of $12-billion in bilateral trade by next year. “Because of the recession, we might not reach it,” admitted Sharma. (Speaking at a subsequent press conference, he assured that the $12-billion target will be achieved before 2012.)

He also highlighted the India, Brazil, South Africa trilateral trade target of $25-billion by 2015 (the three countries form the IBSA group

[zenith_suv]

good to know , India and SA are important economies and far more potential is there to be explored between the two nations.

[Euromast]

Bangladesh exports to India to reach $1 bn by 2011

DHAKA: Bangladesh's exports to India will reach at least $1 billion by the end of 2011 as customers in that India now find several of its
neighbour's products attractive, a business leader said on Sunday.

"Our main focus will be the consumers of north-eastern states of India who preferred Bangladesh products including food items, textiles, melamine products and toiletries" said Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"At the moment negotiations are continuing with India to raise export quotas of ready-made garments to 20 million pieces from 8 million now," Ahmad told Reuters in an interview.

Ahmed is also chairman of Nitol-Niloy Group of Industries, a conglomerate.

Bangladeshi manufacturers started to export bricks to India from last week, a new item on the export list.

Initially Bangladesh will export 400 million bricks worth $40 million to the Indian state of Tripura.

Ready-made garments are the principal export of Bangladesh, which accounts more than 80 percent of the total export earnings of the country.

Bangladesh's exports grew 10.3 percent to $15.56 billion in the 2008/09 fiscal year that ended in June, the lowest growth in six years, data showed, reflecting falling demand as a result of the global economic slump.

Ahmad said exports of Bangladeshi products such as processed foods, cement, plastics, sheet glass, dry fish, furniture and stone chips will grow 10-fold in the next two years.

He said that new Bangladeshi products such as melamine and scrap steels were also finding their way into the north-eastern provinces of India.

"Brick export to India opened up a new but strong potential window for Bangladeshi manufacturers and that will enormously help reduce our trade gap with India," Ahmad said.

This will however hit the local real estate sector as prices of bricks had already more than doubled in the past two years, traders said.

Also, the export to India will encourage business people to set up brick manufacturing fields close to the Indian border to make quick cash and would likely pollute the climate through harmful emissions, environmental groups say.

Most brick fields in the country do not have emission control systems.

Bangladesh imports goods -- mainly vehicles, chemicals, food items, fabrics, cotton and machineries -- worth more than $3 billion from India, India buys about $400 million worth of goods from Bangladesh, they said.

ET

[Euromast]

Indo-Thai trade estimated to hit Rs 50,000-cr by 2010: Nuntawan

HYDERABAD: Trade between India and Thailand is estimated to reach Rs 50,000 crore from present Rs 30,000 crore by 2010, Director of Trade
Negotiation Nuntawan Sakuntanaga said today.

Addressing the members of Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) at a meeting here, she said free trade agreement between India and Thailand signed in 2003 resulted in creating significant business and increase in the level of two-way trade between the two countries.

There are several opportunities for collaboration in sectors like gems and jewellery, chemicals and petrochemicals, automotive and auto components and Tourism, she said.

Chairman, International Trade and Relations Committee, FAPCCI, Srinivas Ayyadevara said that the enlargement of Free Trade Agreement by adding 3,000 other items will definitely boost the trade and investment between the two countries

ET

[IU]

India-Africa summit to take up 145 projects worth $9 billion

New Delhi: At a three-day interactive conference with the African continent next week in New Delhi, ministers, businessmen and experts from both sides will discuss 145 business projects worth $9 billion.

External affairs minister SM Krishna will inaugurate the sixth India-Africa Project Partnership conclave on March 14, being jointly organised by the external affairs and commerce ministries, as well as the EXIM Bank and the CII. Ghana’s vice-president John Dramani Mahama will be the guest of honour at the conclave.

The conference that seeks to give a fresh momentum to India’s multifaceted engagement with the African continent will take-off with a CEOs’ roundtable which will put forth an action plan to scale up bilateral trade to $70 billion in the next five years. Also, it is expected to revolve around four linked sub-themes: India-Africa partnership, rural economies, Africa tomorrow and Going Green.

The major focus of the conclave will be on the infrastructure development in Africa. The presence of a strong Indian diaspora in several African nations further improves the ties with African business and trade networks, sources said.

The other focus areas of discussion will be project financing, mining and minerals, agriculture and agro-processing, energy, consultancy, transport connectivity, SMEs promotion, pharmaceuticals and healthcare and human capital formation.

Major Indian investment in Africa is in sectors like manufacturing; non-financial services such as IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) and energy.

Sudan and Mauritius are among the top five investment destinations for India, with both accounting for about 18 % of India's total FDI flow. However, infrastructure in the region still remains a critical area for investment.

In 2009, the delegates from both sides discussed projects worth over $12 billion, the fourth conclave, held in New Delhi in March 2008, and had discussed projects worth over $10 billion.

[India101]

Sanjaya Baru: Look west policy

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has so far received only three visiting heads of state at the Delhi airport — President George Bush, President Vladimir Putin and King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia. That simple fact should have placed Dr Singh’s much-delayed visit to Riyadh last week in perspective.

Saudi Arabia is not just about Islam, oil and dollars. It is India’s civilisational neighbour, a long-time trading partner, now a strategic partner and, as a member of the G-20, an important pole in the emerging multi-polar global order.

In July 2005, Dr Singh chaired a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC) which resolved to launch what was then dubbed India’s “Look West Policy”. The starting point of that policy was the launch of negotiations for an India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) free trade agreement and a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with individual member countries of the GCC, that is, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dr Singh told the TERC: “The Gulf region, like South-East and South Asia, is part of our natural economic hinterland. We must pursue closer economic relations with all our neighbours in our wider Asian neighbourhood. India has successfully pursued a “Look East” policy to come closer to the countries of South-East Asia. We must, similarly, come closer to our western neighbours in the Gulf.”

In the months that followed, the Indian Navy, under the leadership of Admiral Suresh Mehta, launched its own “Look West Policy” of increased maritime engagement of the Gulf states, inspired by the vision of that famous maritime historian KM Panikkar, whose classic treatise India and the Indian Ocean (1945) underlined the strategic importance for India of the region from the Gulf of Aden to the Malacca Straits. The British Empire, wrote Panikkar, guarded the “jewel in its crown” from three outposts — Singapore, Mauritius and Yemen (Aden and Socotra). Today, free India has a special relationship with all the three countries.

In launching the “Look West Policy”, as a counterpoise to the earlier “Look East Policy” initiated by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao in 1992, Dr Singh has revived an ancient relationship with the entire region, including Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. The new relationship is built not just on the post-War and Cold War past, but is based on a new forward-looking equation with the region.

At the Manama Dialogue, organised annually in Bahrain by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), London, India has become an important participant both in the strategic and security policy discussions and in the increasingly important economic dialogue.

If India’s “Look East Policy” was aimed at reintegrating India with the dynamic, rapidly-rising economies of East and South-East Asia, her “Look West Policy” is aimed at strengthening relations with a region that is vital to India’s energy security, and is also a source of employment for over 3.5 million Indians and a source of sizeable foreign exchange remittances. In Saudi Arabia alone, there are over 2 million Indians, the largest expat community in the state, and it accounts for over 20 per cent of India’s oil imports.

If East and South-East Asian economies have emerged as India’s biggest trade partners, overtaking Europe and the United States, the GCC countries aren’t far behind, with Saudi Arabia being India’s fourth-biggest trade partner. Apart from the economic dimension to both these outreach efforts, there is a strategic dimension. India’s engagement with East and South-East Asia is part of her effort to handle the rise of China, and India’s engagement of Saudi Arabia is part of her effort to deal with the rise of militant Islam. India’s own rise is circumscribed to an extent by both these phenomenon.

So, it is not surprising that an Indian prime minister would want to talk about the epicentre of jihadi terrorism, Pakistan-Afghanistan, that threatens Saudi Arabia’s stability as much as India’s. The Saudis fund a substantial part of Pakistan’s defence budget and it is not for nothing that the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto famously dubbed Pakistan’s nuclear weapons as the “Islamic Bomb”!

Both China and Saudi Arabia have become important actors in the “new great game” in Central Asia and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, along with the United States, Russia, Iran and Turkey. Saudi Arabia has become an even more important interlocutor for India with its membership of G-20.

India need not take sides in the struggle for influence within the Islamic world between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey (with beleaguered Iraq nursing its wounds), but there is no question that India’s strategic interests lie more with the Arab world, and certainly till Iran’s and Israel’s moderates return to power.

As the only G-20 members from their respective regions of South, South-East and West Asia, India, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia form a new arc of stability with shared concerns about the global economy and the threat of jehadi terrorism. The shifts in power balances and economic fortunes within these two regions to our east and west will have important economic and strategic implications for India.

It is, therefore, understandable that Prime Minister Singh has been invited to inaugurate the first ever IISS Geo-economic Strategy Summit and the Bahrain Global Forum, with a focus on “rebalancing global geo-economic strategies for security, growth and development” by the Kingdom of Bahrain, scheduled for May 2010.

The rise of China and India is shifting the tectonic plates of Asia. Focused obsessively on the “near west” (Pakistan) and the “far west” (US), India neglects the “other west” (West Asia). India must become more active in the community-building efforts in West Asia. Riyadh and Bahrain are good places to begin from.

[hakz2007]

India to seek higher US market for gems, jewellery

NEW DELHI, March 14 (PNA/PTI) -- The Commerce Ministry will impress upon the US trade office to facilitate increase in imports of gems and jewellery and handicrafts to the US from India, on the back of revival in the American economy.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma would be leaving for Washington on March 16, accompanied by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar.

"The US is our largest market for labour intensive sectors... and these issues would come up for discussion during Sharma's meeting with US Trade Representative Ron Kirk," an official said.

In 2008-09, exports of gems and jewellery worth USD 24.89 billion, leather USD 3.59 billion and handicrafts USD 1.7 billion to the US had a significant share in India's total shipments worth over USD 185 billion. (PNA/PTI)

[hakz2007]

U.S., India tighten trade relation

WASHINGTON, March 18 (PNA/Xinhua) -- The United States and India signed an agreement Wednesday to strengthen trade and investment ties, concluding a deal that leaders of the two sides announced last year.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma signed a "Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment" in Washington.

This agreement will encourage small businesses in both countries and boost cooperation on clean energy technologies.

"There is almost limitless potential for growth in trade between our two countries," Kirk said, "and that can contribute to economic recovery and job creation in the United States and continued economic growth in India."

"We also intend to use this framework to encourage the development and deployment of clean energy and environmental technologies as well as to support India's infrastructure growth," Sharma said.

Trade between the two economic powers has more than doubled in the last five years to more than 37.6 billion dollars in 2009. Sharma said the possibilities for trade between the United States and India "have not been tapped fully as yet."

U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to double U.S. exports within the next five years, and the administration hopes to use India's fast growing economy to help meet that goal.

Kirk and Sharma announced their intent to finalize the " Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment" when they co- chaired the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum meeting in New Delhi in October 2009.

The United States-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF), established in July 2005, is the principal bilateral forum for the two governments to discuss the entire spectrum of trade and investment issues. (PNA/Xinhua)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=...d=4&rid=264976

[hakz2007]

Indian customs seizes 1,250 tons of toxic wheat from Australia

NEW DELHI, March 25 (PNA/Xinhua) -- The Indian customs has seized 1,250 tons of "toxic" wheat imported from Australia at the port in the southern state of Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai, local daily The Times of India said Thursday.

The consignment, contained in 50 containers, was found to contain more than permissible levels of pesticide chloropyrifos, said the report, claiming that three clearing agents were arrested on charges of attempting to get clearance for the consignment using fake documents.

"This is the first time that such a huge quantity of imported food grain has been found to have excessive pesticide content. The consignment will not be cleared for import. It will have to be sent back to Australia," Customs commissioner C. Rajan was quoted as saying.

Customs officials took samples of the wheat as soon as the consignment arrived 10 days ago from Melbourne and sent it to the Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore in southern India.

"It is the procedure. We take samples and send them to the laboratory for testing the pesticide content. The test revealed that the consignment contained high pesticide levels and hence was not fit for consumption," said Rajan. (PNA/Xinhua)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=...d=4&rid=266403

[hakz2007]

Russia sets sights on poultry imports from India

MOSCOW, March 27 (PNA/RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to import poultry from India if the U.S. does not resume its supply, Russian agriculture minister Yelena Skrynnik said Friday after meeting with her Indian counterpart.

The U.S. supplied last year 22 percent of poultry consumed in Russia but was unable to continue this after Jan. 1 when new sanitary requirements came into force in Russia.

Skrynnik said India, a major poultry producer, already expressed readiness to supply its produce to Russia, Turkey and Thailand.

"At the moment, actually this week, we found out that we have excessive stocks of poultry products on our farms so we stopped discussions by now. But theoretically, if we need poultry, we can buy it from India," she said.

Under the new regulations, which apply to both imports and meat processed in Russia, the amount of chlorine in solutions used for processing poultry meat must not exceed 0.3-0.5 milligrams per liter, the level set for drinking water.

The regulations also require that fluid which separates when meat is defrosted must not exceed 4 percent of the bird's total weight.

Chlorine has been used for some 25 years as the primary anti-microbial treatment in the U.S.

Russian-U.S. talks on the issue have continued with the latest round held from March 1 to 3.

Russia's chief sanitary official Gennady Onishchenko said last week a draft agreement on U.S. poultry supplies to Russia is almost ready but such does not mean the supply will resume in the near future. (PNA/RIA Novosti)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=...d=4&rid=266718

[India101]

Growing India-Saudi Arabia Ties

For the first time in almost 30 years, the Prime Minister of India visited Saudi Arabia from Feb. 27 to March 1. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke at length with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz about security, economic, energy and defense issues. By the end of the visit, they had signed 10 different agreements. This is the result of negotiations that began with the king’s visit to India in 2006, where he spoke about creating comprehensive ties between the two countries and was honored as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. With Prime Minister Singh’s visit, the ties are realized. As an added bonus, Manmohan Singh received an honorary doctorate from King Saud University. “As a result of our interaction, we have agreed to upgrade the quality of our relationship to that of a strategic partnership,” Singh said when he returned to India.

The strategic partnership between the two countries covers economic, trade and investment issues. Also, the agreement covers energy security, research & development investment in renewable energy resources and mutual investment in the upstream and downstream energy activities of both nations. The agreement also includes a pledge for both countries to use space for only peaceful purposes. Finally, the agreement addresses cooperation in dealing with security and terrorism issues. The fact that the agreement was completed at all is a signifier of a new era in South Asian politics.

The prime minister was accompanied by a delegation of ministers, officials and businessmen, who were also busy. There were reports of two private sector agreements reached during the three-day event.

Energy Needs, Again
Saudi Arabia supplies a full 30 percent of India’s crude oil each year. India’s steady growth will no doubt require more energy in the future. India is voraciously reaching out for all forms of energy from nuclear to solar, and will maintain a healthy diet of oil as its economy expands. Securing a steady supply from Saudi Arabia is essential for India’s future growth.

The joint declaration signed by both parties, being called the Riyadh Declaration, speaks a lot about complementary needs and interdependence, which means both countries should invest in each other’s energy infrastructure. There are also some vague references to developing alternative sources of renewable energy.

New Political Era
Despite the two countries’ ancient historical ties, India and Saudi Arabia have found themselves separated by the 20th century’s political climate. Now, however, as circumstances change in the 21st century, both countries find themselves with similar interests and goals. And, as always, one of the most important goals is bilateral trade. India’s post-liberalization, bilateral trade sharply shot up, especially after 2000, and stood at US $25 billion in 2008-09.

[Naresh]

India’s Feb output seen up 16 percent y/y

NEW DELHI: India’s industrial output and exports maintained their strong growth pace in February, official figures indicated on Wednesday, boosting expectations the central bank will further tighten its policy in April.

Earlier this month the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) surprised markets by raising key lending and borrowing rates by 25 basis points each, citing intensifying inflationary pressures.

Markets largely shrugged off the data, which reinforced expectations of at least another 25 basis point increase in key rates in April. The latest Reuters poll shows analysts expect rates to go up by another 100 basis points between now and end-December.

India’s exports in February grew 34.8 percent year on year to $16.09 billion after an annual 11.5 percent rise in January, Trade Minister Anand Sharma said on Wednesday. reuters

Cheers

[India101]

India asks for more trade ties with Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, April 5 (IANS/WAM) India Monday asked Abu Dhabi to increase trade between the two countries and allow the India-based International Accounting Institute to set up a branch in Abu Dhabi.

An Indian delegation led by Minister of State for Corporate and Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid met Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, here and underlined the need to develop bilateral relations through increased trade and sharing of information.

The delegation urged Abu Dhabi to promote investments in the field of higher education and sought permission for opening a branch of the International Accounting Institute in the country.

During the meeting, both the leaders hailed the historic ties, especially in the fields of trade and investment due to free market policies pursued by the two nations.

The UAE encourages economic trade, education and tourism with various international companies specialised in these areas to contribute in the building and development process, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said.

[zenith_suv]

Israel may soon sign free trade agreement with India

[hakz2007]

INDIA'S MANGO EXPORTS MAY RISE 8.5 PC THIS YEAR

NEW DELHI, May 28 (NNN-PTI) -- Mango exports from India, the world's largest producer of the fruit, is likely to rise 8.5 per cent to over 90,000 tonne in the 2009-10 season on increased demand from the Middle East, an agri-export promotion body APEDA said today.

"We expect overseas sales of mangoes to cross 90,000 tonne in 2010-11 season, driven by higher demand in the Middle East," a senior official with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) said.

India's mango exports are under a per cent of the country's total production of 12.5 million tonnes.

Last year, the country is estimated to have shipped 83,000 tonne of mangoes, including to the Middle East, the US and the UK, he said. Mango season runs from March to July.

http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=121824

[yashchauhan]

[India101]

India-UAE trade up 70 percent: Envoy

DUBAI:Trade between the UAE and India increased by nearly 70 per cent during 2008-09, showing the growing importance of ties between the two countries, a top envoy has said.

"Bilateral trade (non-oil) between India and the UAE was worth $48.3bn in 2008-09, an increase of 65.8 per cent over the previous year, which shows the growing importance of relations between our two nations, UAE Ambassador to India Mohamed Sultan Al Owais said.

"Increasing transportation links between India and the UAE can only help strengthen the economic and commercial ties between us," he said Wednesday at the launch of the 'flydubai' low cost airline's thrice weekly flight to Lucknow.

"It is important for both the UAE and India that we increase the number of safe, affordable, quality air travel options that connect our countries," he said, adding that flydubai "is an excellent airline, committed to the highest standards of safety, training and maintenance."

"I am confident flydubai will provide an excellent service to the people travelling between Dubai and Lucknow and we look forward to the airline being able to expand services to other Indian cities in the future," the UAE ambassador noted.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, the flydubai CEO who flew on board the inaugural flight, said: "After much anticipation, we are thrilled to make our first entry into India with the start of flights to Lucknow."

The new service, FZ433, will operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, departing Dubai at 8.30 p.m. and arriving in Lucknow at 1.50 am the following day. The return flight, FZ434, will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing Lucknow at 2.35 am and arriving in Dubai at 5.20 am.

[EMP]

Hi Guys!! Finally some movement in trade talks a big step forward in right direction since both countries have a lot to offer to each other. Hopefully this will keep the talks going which will benefit both countries in short as well as long term



New Pakistan trade policy to double India-Pakistan trade

New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) The volume of trade between India and Pakistan is likely to double following the trade policy announced by Pakistan recently which increases the number of items that Pakistan can import from India, said Tariq Sayeed, president, Saarc Chambers of Commerce and Industry, here Thursday. “I expect the trade figures to jump from $2 billion to $4 billion due to the trade policy,” Sayeed told IANS. He is currently in India to attend a conference on south Asian economic integration.

Referring to the domestic criticism from certain quarters that the trade policy was “pro-India”, Sayeed said the detractors had not read the provisions properly. “The policy specifically asks investors to set up manufacturing units in Pakistan”.

For the first time, Pakistan has invited direct investment from India in the manufacture of CNG buses. It also allowed test import of ten-year-old CNG buses from Indian companies, who had committed to opening a manufacturing facility in Pakistan, he said.

Besides, Pakistan had also increased the number of importable items from India by 136, including machinery for mining, cement bulkers and academic and reference books, Sayeed said.

Source:- http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/..._10075452.html

[hakz2007]

'INDIA'S AUTO EXPORT MAY GROW 15 PER CENT THIS FISCAL'

NEW DELHI, June 28 (NNN-PTI) The government has said the country's total vehicle export is likely to increase by up to 15 per cent in the current fiscal, as demand from Europe is expected to rise.

"We may see a 10-15 per cent increase in auto exports over and above the last fiscal's export," Joint Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry Ambuj Sharma told PTI.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the overall vehicle export from India grew by 17.90 per cent at 18,04,619 units in the last financial year, while the same stood at 15,30,594 units in 2008-09.

Sharma said most of the European nations that are growing will lead to an increase in consumer spending and demand for auto sales in those regions.

The European nations are a major destination for the Indian auto industry's passenger car export.

http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=125228

INDIA'S APRIL SPICES EXPORTS UP 28PC

NEW DELHI, June 28 (NNN-PTI): India's spices exports increased 28 per cent, both in value and volume terms, in April this year over the same month last year, according to the Spices Board.

While in quantity terms exports reached 56,910 tonnes in the month under review, in value-terms, it rose to Rs 525 crore.

In comparison, the country exported 44,595 tonnes worth Rs 412 crore in April 2009.

Shipments for chili, the highest forex earner among the spices, stood at 19,750 tonnes in the month and was valued at Rs 121.46 crore at an average price of Rs 61.5 a kg.

The highest growth in exports was recorded by garlic--a whopping 6,282 per cent in quantity and 4738 per cent in terms of value. In comparison, exports were 5,425 lakh tonnes and valued at Rs 19.47 crore in April last year.

http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=125214