First time in a decade India turns net exporter of chemicals and related products
India has turned a net exporter of chemicals and related products for the first time in a decade. At a time when the Indian government is seeking self-sufficiency, Commerce & Industry Ministry data reveals that India turned a net exporter of chemicals and related products for the first time in at least a decade in fiscal year 2020. According to estimates, exports of such products — including drug formulations, bulk drugs and drug intermediates, organic chemicals, agro chemicals and fertilisers — rose 3% year-on-year to US$ 45 billion in FY20. Meanwhile, imports stood at US$44.3 billion, down 7.3%. However, India’s overall goods exports contracted by 5.1% in FY20, while its imports shrank by 7.8%.
The Trade Prmotion Council of India says that data suggest that over the past decade through FY20, exports of the chemicals and related products more than doubled from US$ 20.8 billion in FY11 to US$ 45 billion last fiscal. This was a significant improvement in terms of the overall goods exports that rose from US$ 250 billion to just US$ 313 billion during this period. Meanwhile, the share of the chemicals segment in the country’s merchandise exports, too, increased from 8.3% in FY11 to 14.4% in FY20. Such imports jumped up from US$ 29.5 billion to US$ 44.3 billion in the past decade.
