India Seeks New Export Destinations with Shifts in the Global Trade, Chemicals and Pharma in the Limelight

According to the recent figures released by the Ministry of Commerce, India’s exports value reached USD 13182 million in 2019-20 from merely 10 billion in 2015-16. In FY20, Brazil became the number one export destination in the region with the value of USD 3.97 billion, overtaking Mexico. Moreover, exports to Venezuela doubled to USD 340 million as compared to the last fiscal. Of all the exported commodities, value of exported Chemicals stood at USD 2576 mn; Textiles USD 1058 mn; Pharma USD 962 mn; Plastics USD 386 mn and Rubber products USD 264 mn. India stands fifth among the major pharmaceutical suppliers to Latin America, its major destinations being Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Although the region’s imports are expected to reduce by 10 per cent with the expected contraction in GDP to 9.1% in 2020, India seems opportunistic of the widening trust deficit that major economies express towards China after the Coronavirus outbreak. As per the reports, India is targeting to increase its exports to about 20 billion dollars in the next five years and in these trying times when Latin Americans are looking for cheaper products, the region’s strong willingness towards reducing import dependency over China will serve as a silver lining to India. It is being anticipated that India is striving to increase its share in the region’s pharma imports and make it to 2 billion whose annual global imports stand nearly at 25 billion dollars.