India may soon start exporting tobacco to China as both the countries have signed a protocol for the same, the department of commerce said on January 21.
"India and China signed the Protocol of phytosanitary requirements for the export of tobacco leaves from India to China. This has paved the way for the export of Indian tobacco to China, strengthening India-China trade relations," the department said in a tweet.
Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan met Zhang Jiwan, Vice Minister of General Administration of Customs of China, Monday and discussed various issues related to market access for Indian agri-commodities and the ways to resolve them.
China has last year allowed imports of non-basmati rice from India.
China is a major rice market in the world.
These developments assume significance as India wants to increase exports to China with a view to bridging the ballooning trade deficit, which has increased to USD 63.12 billion in 2017-18 from USD 51.08 billion in the previous fiscal.
Source: moneycontrol.com