India’s exports to Latin America increased by 16% in 2017-18 ( April to March) reaching 12 billion dollars from 10.38 billion in 2016-17, according to the Commerce Ministry of India.
India’s exports of 160 million dollars to the distant and small Uruguay (15000 km away; population 3.4 million) is more than the exports of 133 million to Uzbekistan which is 3000 km from Delhi and has a larger population of 31 million.
India’s exports of 292 million dollars to the distant Guatemala is more than the exports of 133 million to the neighbourly Cambodia.
India exports more to Central America ( 956 million dollars) than to the Central Asian Republics ( 365 m) although the latter is closeby and has more population.
India’s exports to Mexico ( 3.78 billion) are more than the exports to Iran(2.65 bn), Thailand(3.65 bn), Russia(2.13 bn), Canada(2.5 bn)or Egypt(2.4 bn)
Latin America remained as the leading destination for India’s exports of vehicles which reached 3.76 billion. Mexico continued as the largest market for India’s vehicle exports with 2.02 billion.
Mexico continued its position as the top destination in the region after having overtaken Brazil in recent years.
India’s exports and imports in 2017-18 ( in million dollars) are in the table below:
country
|
exports
|
imports
|
Total trade
|
Mexico
|
3783
|
3930
|
7713
|
Brasil
|
3064
|
5498
|
8562
|
argentina
|
709
|
2229
|
2938
|
Colombia
|
939
|
593
|
1532
|
Peru
|
761
|
2377
|
3138
|
chile
|
764
|
2092
|
2856
|
Venezuela
|
79
|
5866
|
5945
|
ecuador
|
280
|
194
|
474
|
Bolivia
|
105
|
667
|
772
|
paraguay
|
168
|
167
|
335
|
uruguay
|
160
|
25
|
185
|
panama
|
227
|
43
|
270
|
guatemala
|
292
|
16
|
308
|
Dominican republic
|
197
|
646
|
843
|
Costa Rica
|
134
|
67
|
201
|
honduras
|
146
|
13
|
159
|
El salvador
|
70
|
9
|
79
|
nicaragua
|
87
|
4
|
91
|
Cuba
|
42
|
2
|
44
|
Total
|
12007
|
24438
|
36445
|
India’s main exports ( figures in million dollars)
vehicles
|
3759
|
Equipments and machinery
|
1007
|
Organic chemicals
|
973
|
Iron and steel products
|
805
|
pharmaceuticals
|
779
|
Chemical products
|
630
|
Synthetic fibres
|
635
|
textiles
|
591
|
Plastic products
|
483
|
cotton
|
363
|
dyestuff
|
327
|
Rubber articles
|
243
|
Major destinations of vehicle exports: Mexico-2027 million dollars, Chile-284 m, Brazil-278 m, Colombia-255m, Peru-218 m, Argentina-142 m, Guatemala-98 m, Ecuador-75m, Costa Rcia-66m and Bolivia-59m
Major destinations of pharma exports: Brazil-229 million dollars, Chile-65m, Colombia-55m, Venzuela-55m, Peru-40m, Dominican Republic-35m, Guatemala-32m and Ecuador-32m
India’s major importsin million dollars
Crude oil
|
10490
|
gold
|
3663
|
copper
|
3007
|
Vegetable oil
|
2649
|
Raw sugar
|
920
|
Equipments and machinery
|
861
|
aircrafts
|
464
|
Wood pulp
|
503
|
Iron and steel
|
350
|
Gold imports which started three years back have increased steadily reaching the second position last year. The raw sugar is imported from Brasil for refining and reexports. Peru was the top supplier with 1.78 billion dollars, followed by Bolivia-663 million, Dominican republic-584 m, Colombia-308m, Brazil-289m and Mexico 37m
Venezuela continued to be the top source of imports of crude oil with 5.86 billion dollars, followed by Mexico-2.77 bn, Brazil-1.56 bn, Colombia 177 million and Ecuador 85 m.
Chile maintained its position as the top supplier of copper and Argentina as major supplier of soy oil
Trade
India’s trade with Latin America increased to 36.44 billion dollars in 2017-18 from 30.04 billion in the previous year. The imports will go up significantly in 2018-19 due to the higher prices of oil, the main import from the region.
India’s exports will increase slightly in 2018-19, given the subdued GDP growth of 1.5% in 2018. Argentina is expected to suffer a small GDP contraction, Venezuelan GDP is projected to go down by 10%