$53b India-Africa Trade to Double in 5 yrs.

The business ties between India and Africa are likely to double in next five years. The trade is now estimated to be $53 billion. Transport equipment, services, healt-hcare, agriculture and higher education will be key sectors driving the growth, says federation of indian chambers of commerce and industry (Ficci) secretary general Rajiv Kumar.

According to Kumar, bilateral trade was $25 billion in 2006-07 and has doubled to the current level in four years. He was speaking at India-Africa Business Partnership Summit in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Citing Exim Bank report, he said India’s exports to Africa rose from $10.3 billion in 2006-07 to $21.1 billion in 2010-11. The exports of transport equipment and petroleum products have increased. There has been a corresponding increase in imports to India from Africa in this period, which rose from $14.7 billion to $32.2.

On the business pros-pects in Africa, chairman and managing director of Export-Import Bank of India TCA Ranganathan said the investments in the continent will grow at 5.5 per cent year on year.

The bank was helping in setting up food processing, textiles, diamond and IT clusters in Africa, he said.

The trade between the two is largely based on commodities and now manufacturing and services sectors will have a well-defined role in the bilateral ties.

Inaugurating the summit, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy asked the visiting businessmen from Africa to explore the opportunities in higher education in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Hyderabad. Many investors from Andhra Pradesh have invested in horticulture and floriculture in a big way in African countries, he said.

Source : mydigitalfc.com