Since May 1 of last year, India and the UAE have had a full free trade agreement in place. Imports from the UAE fell 34.08 percent to $3.15 billion in April, according to the figures. On May 1 of this year, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal expressed optimism that India’s exports to the UAE will increase by roughly 60per cent to $50 billion by 2026–27.
India’s exports to the UAE increased by 11.8 percent to $31.3 billion in 2022–23, while imports from that nation jumped by 18.8 percent to $53.2 billion in the previous fiscal year due to higher inbound oil shipments.
Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi responded when asked about the drop in exports and imports between the two nations that one of the major components with the UAE has been petroleum trade, and recessionary pressure on petroleum prices is likely to result in lesser imports as well as when “we re-export petroleum products, that is likely to have its impact”. The CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and other Gulf nations, he continued, use the UAE as a gateway for various consumer items, which has had an impact and is the reason “why our exports” to the UAE have decreased.
Additionally, exports to the US decreased by 17.16per cent to $5.9 billion. According to the report, American imports also fell by 24.67per cent to $3.14 billion in April of this year. China (4.31 percent), Singapore (28.7 percent), Bangladesh (43.31 percent), and Germany (14.44 percent) were the other export destinations where the nation’s exports experienced negative growth in the month under consideration. However, the Netherlands, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Italy saw an increase in exports.
Though, because of increased shipments of crude oil into the country, imports from Russia increased by 204 percent to $4.98 billion, according to the data. Yet there was a decline in imports from China, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia, Korea, and Singapore during the month under consideration.
