India’s containerised foreign trade volumes grew 11% in first half of 2016.

Mumbai, September 19: India’s containerised foreign trade volumes notched a growth of 11 per cent in the first half of 2016. This increase is significantly higher than the 6 per cent registered for the comparable period last year, Maersk Group said in a trade report on Monday.

The report pointed out that global trade growth has been moderate for over five years now and the trend is expected to continue in 2016. Growth in the volume of global trade in 2016 is estimated at 2.8 per cent, largely unchanged from what it was in 2015. India continues to be one of the bright spots in the global export-import of containerised trade.

In with what occurred in 2015, this year the growth in volumes has been balanced across exports and imports, the report further said. The exports have seen a growth at 11 per cent year on year and the imports have remained strong at 12 per cent.

This growth clearly indicates that the initiatives taken by India to boost the economy are on the right track since containerised trade accounts for approximately 55 per cent of the country’s total EXIM trade volumes, it added.

“Although 2016 did not start on a positive note in terms of global trade for the world, the Indian market has grown consistently in the first half. This is primarily due to a relatively strong US economy and a slight improvement in the European market. Traditionally, Europe and North America have been India’s largest trading partners and account for over a third of the containerised trade, so when they do well India benefits,” said Franck Dedenis, Managing Director of Maersk Line for the India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cluster, in the report.

India’s top export partners during the first six-months of 2016 have been the US, UK, Germany, Saudi Arab, Turkey and Kenya. The top export commodity by growth volumes has been vegetables at 56 per cent, followed by fruits and nuts at 42 per cent. Within fruits, grapes witnessed the strongest growth at 180 per cent, the report said.

The top import partners have been China, the US, Germany, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

Source : thehindubusinessline.com