Canon Fair may well bridge trade deficit between India-China

Though bilateral trade relations between India and China have risen exponentially over the years, however India’s trade deficit with China is also growing alongside, and today stands at over $23.14bn. The best way to reduce the trade gap is through participation by Indian companies in international exhibitions like Canton Fair informed A Sakthivel, President, Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) recently.

The Chief of FIEO informed this during a meet with high level delegation from China Foreign Trade Centre, and the organizer of China Import & Export Fair (Canton Fair) in New Delhi.

Ren Xiangdong, Dy. Director General, CFTC led the delegation accompanied by Chen Shaowei, Section Chief, CFTC, Zhang Jiaqing, Director, CFTC and officials from Embassy of China.

FIEO Chief informed the Chinese Delegation that trade deficit has been constantly climbing up and has been heavily in favor of China. In 2008-09 the trade deficit reportedly touched USD 23.14 billion. He felt that conscious efforts need to be made to bring down this deficit. He also added that Indian companies taking part in various international exhibitions could play a crucial role in accelerating exports from India and reducing the trade gap.

Talking about the Canton Fair, he informed that India is the largest participating country in the Canton Fair after. Nearly 70 Indian companies are participating with 900 sq mtrs of space for the India Pavilion.

Further he even spoke about popularizing the concept of ‘International pavilion’. Sakthivel also suggested that Phase II and phase III of the fair which would constitute of Gifts, Home, Decorations, Textile and Garments should be thrown open for international participation considering the fact that India has a stronghold in these product categories and Indian handicrafts, textiles and garments are known world over for their quality and designs.

Ren was all praise for FIEO for mobilizing Indian exhibitors for Canton Fair and said that it will only boost the bilateral trade. He also complemented FIEO President for his suggestions.