Exports to India on upward trend

Vietnam-India total trade increased from US$1.01 billion in 2006 to around US$5.5 billion in 2016 while Vietnam exports to India jumped 19.34 times with an average growth of 253%.

2016 was the first year Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of US$70 million with India.

Structural changes have been seen in import and export trade. In the past, bilateral trade involved animal feed, corn and pharmaceuticals sectors only, with Vietnam was often the importer. However, the import-export business has been diversified, covering agricultural products, seafood, electronics, telephones, components, machines, equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, garment, fibres and cars.

Most Vietnamese products exported to India obtained a growth last year. Telephones and components ranked first with an export value of US$379.15 million, followed by machines, equipment and tools (US$354.11 million) and base metal (US$238.94 million).

However, some export products saw a decline including rubber (down 0.4%), pepper (down 5.7%), confectionary and cereal products (down 51.6%), wood and timber products (down 47.2%) and plastics (down 34.4%).