Value of Trade with Pakistan lower than that with Nepal, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 27, 2016
As per the data shared in the Parliament, India’s trade with Pakistan is a meager 0.4% of India’s total global trade. It is also less than the value of trade with other neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal & Sri Lanka.
Amidst growing tensions in India – Pakistan relations in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack, there have been calls for complete shutdown of trade & other relations with Pakistan. As per data available with the government, the total value of India’s trade with Pakistan was about $ 2.61 billion in 2015-16, which is 0.4% of the India’s total  global trade in that year. Value of trade with Pakistan is less than the value of India’s trade with the other neighbours like Nepal, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka.
India’s exports to Pakistan increased by 17% in 2015-16
Among the major neighbours, India’s exports to Pakistan are the least. In 2015-16, the value of India’s exports to Bangladesh was more than $ 6 billion, to Nepal was $ 3.9 billion, to Sri Lanka was $5.3 billion and to Pakistan was $ 2.2 billion. During the last 4 years, India’s exports to Pakistan was highest in 2013-14 ($ 2.27 billion) and was least in 2014-15 ($ 1.85 billion). However, India’s exports to Pakistan in 2015-16 increased by about 17% compared to 2014-15. Except to Pakistan, India’s exports to Bangladesh, Nepal & Sri Lanka declined substantially in 2015-16 compared to 2014-15.
India’s overall trade with Pakistan improved in 2015-16, but still less than other neighbours
While trade with all other countries substantially decreased in 2015-16, India’s trade with Pakistan increased by more than 10%. To put in context, India’s global trade came down by 15% in 2015-16. In 2015-16, India’s trade with Bangladesh decreased by 4.4%. It decreased by over 15% with Nepal and there was a 19% decline in trade with Sri Lanka.
India’s exports to Pakistan increased in 2015-16 largely on account of close to 3 times increase in the export of cotton. The export of cotton increased from $ 200.22 million in 2014-15 to $ 782.34 million in 2015-16. There was also a substantial increase in the export of Pearls, Cereals, fiber, rubber etc. At the same time, there was a substantial decrease in the export of waste from the food industry, from $ 159.08 million in 2014-15 to $ 12.71 million in 2015-16.
On the other hand, India’s imports from Pakistan have been fluctuating. The value of imports stood at $ 541.87 million in 2012-13 and in 2015-16, it came down to $441.03 million. India’s major imports from Pakistan include mineral fuels, fruits & nuts, salt, raw hide etc.
Trade with Pakistan is a meager 0.4% of India’s global trade
The total value of India’s trade with Pakistan in 2015-16 is a meager 0.4% of India’s total global trade. While the share of exports is 0.8% of global exports, the share of imports is a mere 0.1% of the global imports in 2015-16. The share of trade with Pakistan hasn’t changed much in the last few years. It ranged between 0.3% and 0.4% of India’s total global trade.
Featured Image: India Pakistan Trade