India, Mexico to Deepen Agri-Trade Ties.

NEW DELHI: Blessed with similar climatic conditions suitable to agrarian activities, India and Mexico today promised to deepen their partnership in sectors like agri-biotechnology, farm equipment, fertilisers and agro-chemicals.

"India represents an opportunity for diversification. Trade is a two-way street, so we are ready to increase and diversify our imports from India," Mexico Vice-Minister of Agriculture Mariano Ruiz Funes said at a seminar organised by FICCI here.

He stressed on mutual cooperation in areas like agricultural machinery, spices, meat and poultry, seeds and grains and dairy products.

At present, the balance of trade with respect to agricultural products is in favour of India, Funes said, adding that his country is looking forward to working with India to increase each other's agri trade.

While Mexico exported agri and agri food products worth $ 5.1 million to India in 2010, it imported items from India valued at $ 69.9 million, the Mexican minister said, reeling out bilateral trade figures.

India's exports to the Latin American nation include sesame seeds, plants for perfume or medicine and tea extracts.

The major products exported by Mexico to India are chickpeas, beer, instant coffee, fish flour and essential aromatic oils.

Highlighting that India and Mexico shared similar geo-climatic conditions, Ministry of Agriculture Joint Secretary S K G Rahate said there is huge scope for mutual cooperation in areas like improved seeds and farm equipments.

He said an MOU was signed between Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Mexico's National Institute of Research on Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock during the visit of Union Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar to that country in September, 2010, to promote joint research in the farm sector.

The visit of the Mexican minister and a high-level delegation from that country is a follow-up of Pawar's visit, he added.

Rahate said India's foodgrains requirement is projected at 280 million tonnes by 2020-21. "We are committed to achieving this target by adopting several new initiatives in a much more focused way," he said.

Stressing on further technological cooperation between the two countries, Rahate said Mexican wheat varieties were used for producing the Indo-Mexican hybrids that were the backbone of India's Green Revolution in the 60s.

Mexican Ambassador to India Jaime Nularat said bilateral relations between the countries were "solid" and based on shared values.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com