INDIA has recorded trade surplus with as many as 151 countries such as the US and Netherlands, while the country has a trade deficit with 75 nations including China and Russia during the first half of this year, according to think tank GTRI. The GlobalTrade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that India does not need to worry about the trade deficit from importing crude oil and coal, however, it must focus on reducing the industrial goods imports, especially from countries like China, as these threaten India’s economic sovereignty. “Between January and June 2024, India had a trade surplus with 151 countries, representing 55.8 per cent of its exports and 16.5 per cent of its imports, totalling USD 72.1 billion,” GTRI said. The biggest surpluses were with the USA (USD 21 billion) and the Netherlands (USD 11.6 billion) during January-June this year.

 

“India had a trade deficit with 75 countries, which accounted for 44.2 per cent of its exports and 83.5 per cent of its imports, resulting in a USD 185.4 billion deficit, much larger than India’s overall trade deficit,” it said, adding this situation highlights the need to reduce reliance on specific imports and strengthen domestic production. The data analysis by the think tank also showed that with 23 of 75 countries, India’s trade deficit exceeded USD one billion and these countries accounted for 32.9 per cent of India’s exports and 73.5 per cent of its imports.

 

The top five countries with the highest trade deficits were China with USD 41.88 billion, Russia with USD 31.98 billion, Iraq with USD 15.07 billion, Indonesia with USD 9.89 billion, and the UAE with USD 9.47 billion. Remaining 18 countries with trade deficit exceeding USD one billion include Saudi Arabia (USD 9.43 billion),Switzerland(USD8.46 billion), South Korea (USD 6.93billion),Japan(USD6.13 billion),Qatar(USD5.76billion), Hong Kong (USD 5.21 billion), Taiwan (USD 4.28 billion), Australia (USD 3.34 billion), Thailand (USD 2.60 billion),Germany (USD2.10 billion), Vietnam (USD 2.07 billion), Malaysia (USD 1.49 billion),Venezuela(USD1.47 billion), Peru (USD 1.10 billion), and Ireland (USD 1.10 billion). It added thatIndia should not be concerned about the trade deficit with 11 countries that primarily export crude oil, petroleum products, and coal to India such asAngola,Iraq,SaudiArabia, Australia and Nigeria