A year of trade diplomacy
31 December 2004
A year of buoyant exports and strenuous trade diplomacy. V. Jagannathan reports.
Chennai: India''s exports are expected to touch $75 billion this fiscal. According to union commerce minister Kamal Nath, exports would exceed the 16 per cent growth target over the previous year.
According to the commerce ministry, exports to all major destinations have shown record growth in 2004. As per the provisional data of April-October 2004, exports to the European Union (EU) grew by 22.7 per cent, to the US by 24 per cent. and to Asia and Oceania by over 42 per cent.
India''s exports to Africa witnessed a growth rate of 25.6 per cent and to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) exports grew by over 52 per cent.
Bilateral trade with China during 2004 has crossed the $10-billion mark, while exports to Pakistan have trebled.
During the year a comprehensive Foreign Trade Policy (2004-09) was announced by the government aimed at doubling India''s share of global merchandise trade by 2009 and to act as an effective instrument of economic growth by giving a thrust to employment generation.
