FICCI - India Trade Business with Africa can
reach US$ 50 billion
The FICCI
Survey saw the participation from 41 companies many of whom are actively
engaged in business with Africa. The participating companies present the
entire gamut of industries ranging from automobiles, food processing,
ceramics, oil and gas, infrastructure, agri-bio products, farm equipment
and machinery, sanitary-ware, electrical equipment and machinery,
textiles, apparel and gems and jewellery.
-Government should strengthen the trade promotion cell and economic sections in
the High Commissions in different African countries and provide more, better and
updated commercial intelligence.
-India should look at entering into preferential trade arrangements with more
and more African countries and regions particularly SADC
Southern African Development Community, COMESA
and ECOWAS.
-Government should further enhance the credit lines extended to African
countries as this would only lead to more and more exports from the India.
-There should be more and more interactions between the Indian and the African
business communities.
-Companies have laid a lot of emphasis on having more sector specific business
meets
-Exports to Africa could be incentivised.
-An ‘Africa Promotion Council’ should be set in a PPP framework. Such a
council should further have sub-councils focusing on each of the five regions in
the African continent.
-FICCI and EXIM
bank should organize seminars to make companies aware of the countries where
loans on soft terms have not been utilized and what can be done to promote these
countries.
-Individual country reports should be prepared outlining the current
requirements of each country and the future demand trends.
Trade data for India and Africa shows that bilateral trade which stood at US$
6.5 billion in the year 2002-03 increased to US$ 25 billion in 2006-07 – an
increase of about 285% in just four years.
The FICCI Survey reveals certain products from India such as Textiles, compact
cars, gems & Jewellery, agriculture machinery and farm implements, tractors,
pumping systems are widely accepted across countries in the African region.
Given such optimism in trade with African nations, it is felt that doubling of
exports to Africa to US$ 50 billion by 2012 is a distinct possibility.
Participants from the gems and jewellery sector mentioned that the twin
combination of improving buying capacity and affinity towards gold and silver
jewellery amongst people from the African region has improved prospects for
jewellery exports from India.
