Import and Export of India

Import and export items of India

Faculty - Khusboo Jain

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India’s import and export data throws open a mixed results. The following major points are derived by looking into the data of the import and export of India.

1. There has been a healthy and constant growth of export and import of goods over the years. However, import of goods has exceeded the export of goods by India. 
2. The balance of payment i.e. Export bill minus import bill has been in the negative territory, yet, it is not in the danger zone so far.
3. There has been steady increase in the import of goods in the petroleum and energy sector whereas the export of India has seen a steady rise in non-agricultural exports.

EXPORT OF COMMODITIES BY INDIA

India ranks among the major exporting nation of the world, yet, it lags behind some of the established countries like China and USA in export trade. Infact, its performance is way lesser even compared to some of the other smaller countries like Singapore, South Korea, etc. We shall look into the major items of export by India.

India's Export Data,  Period 2011-12, Source - http://commerce.nic.in/

The following points can be derived from the export data of India.

1. The proportion of India’s export has decreased from agricultural products to other industrial products like Minerals, chemicals, and manufactured products.
2. Minerals, fuels and Oils account for the largest section of India’s export.
3. Precious and semi-precious items like jewellery, diamond cutting and similar areas form a considerable portion of around 15% of India’s export.
4. The role of industries in the export of products has been increasing steadily over the years, which is a sign of growth of India’s manufacturing industry.
5. Cotton remains a big export item in the agricultural sector with almost 3% share in the export of India.

IMPORT OF COMMODITIES IN INDIA

Import Data of India, Period - 2011-12, Source: http://commerce.nic.in

The following points can be derived from the import data of India.

1. India’s major import item has been oil, fuels and mineral resources. This accounts for a huge 38% of Indian import bill. This is because of the fact that India is dependent on import for its energy requirements in the form of diesel, petroleum, oil, gas and other fuel and energy items.
2. In the precious and semi-precious items, India imports rough diamonds which are used to cut and polish in the growing diamond polishing industry. Also, India is one of the largest consumers of gold in the world. It imports most of its gold requirements as India does not have major gold deposits.
3. India’s growing nuclear industry has resulted in a huge import of nuclear reactors and equipments. India is increasing the production of electricity through nuclear reactors which has increase the import of similar items.
4. India has been importing a lot in terms of electrical items. These items have been imported mainly in the computer chips and other computer parts.
5. India still imports a lot of iron and steel, inspite of the increased production in the domestic iron and steel industry. This might because of India’s increasing industrial requirements and huge infrastructural development.

MAJOR CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN THE IMPORT AND EXPORT OF ITEMS IN INDIA

1. There has been a heavy increase in the import of minerals, fuel, oil, gas and other energy requirements in the last few decades as the growing industries of the Indian economy requires a lot of fuel.
2. India’s export of agricultural products has come down significantly as the country has developed in the industrial sector. It now ranks among the biggest industrial goods exporter of the world.
3. Indian import of agricultural products has come down significantly after the Green Revolution which had increased the production of agricultural items in India.
4. India has started to import a lot of electrical items especially in the computer parts industry because of the increase in the Information Technology service industry.

Experts believe that India’s import shall increase more than export over the coming years. This might worsen the country’s balance of payment situation.

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