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By APD writer Muhammad Sohail
India’s exports to Qatar jumped more than 100 percent to reach almost 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in the financial year 2018-2019 from 800 million US dollars in 2016-2017, Indian Ambassador to Qatar Kumaran told local media Thursday.
“The volume of trade between India and Qatar reached above 12.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2018-2019, out of which close to 11 billion U.S. dollars were India’s imports mainly of LNG and other petrochemical products from Qatar. Our exports to Qatar reached almost 1.6 billion U.S. dollars, a huge increase compared to previous years,” said Kumaran.
In the financial year 2017-2018 alone, he said, India’s exports to Qatar grew 87 percent.
“Some of it is due to trade diversion from the UAE since June, 2017. Whatever trade between Qatar and India used to happen via Dubai has stopped. Therefore, most of the Indian suppliers have found a way to reach the Qatari market directly. That’s the reason why the trade has gone up so much,” the envoy said.
“We also have a large Indian community here which is involved in every single segment of the Qatari economy. That gives us another opportunity and the route to access the Qatari market. They know both sides of the market very well. This gives us an edge to supply more products to the Qatari market,” he said.
“India exports a range of products to Qatar including food products, processed food, fresh vegetables, oil, rice, wheat, sugar, electronic goods, automobiles and others,” he said.
“We expect our exports to Qatar to grow in the years to come. The growth might not be as huge as 87 percent in 2017-2018 as it was an exceptional year due to the blockade imposed on Qatar by some of its neighboring countries. We do see a rising trend in demand for our products in Qatar,” said the envoy, adding that a lot of Indian companies are vying to enter the Qatari market to take part in various projects going on in the country through trade exhibitions and conferences.
“With each passing exhibition, you will find more and more Indian companies coming to Qatar. So many construction works are going on in Qatar in preparation for the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Our companies continue to see good values for doing business in Qatar,” the envoy added.
“India is working to increase its share of LNG in its energy mix from the current 6-7 percent to 20 percent. To achieve this goal we need to import more gas. In such a situation India will heavily bank on Qatar,” he said.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
