India raised market access issue for agri products with China: D Purandeswari

NEW DELHI: The country has consistently raised the issue of market access and removal of bottleneck for its domestic agricultural products with China, Parliament was informed today.

India-China bilateral trade stood at $75.5 billion, but the ballooning trade deficit in Beijing's favour, which rose to about $40 billion in 2011-12, has raised concerns among Indian authorities.

"India has consistently been raising the issue of market access and removal of bottleneck of Indian agricultural products with the Chinese side," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry D Purandeswari said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

She said although China has allowed imports of nine fruits including mangoes and grapes and eight vegetables, it has yet to grant imports fo remaining 14 fruits and vegetables.

"Further, China approved the import of Indian Basmati rice in April 2012. However, the formalities have not been completed by them," Purandeswari said.

"Issue of market access to Indian agricultural products has been taken up at various inter-governmental interactions at different levels," she added.

The minister said the government is making all efforts for enhancing merchandise exports from India to bridge the trade deficit with China.

During April-September period of the fiscal, India's imports from China stood at $28 billion, while exports aggregated at $6.43 billion.

In an another reply, she said the percentage share of exports to traditional market (the US and Europe) during 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 has been 32.4 per cent, 29.9 per cent and 30.2 per cent, respectively.

"The global economic crisis, the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the economic slowdown in developed economies have adversely impacted demand for our exports in India's traditional markets," she said.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma in a written reply to another question said India has received FDI worth Rs 80,427 crore during April-October 2012.

In 2011-12, the country has attracted FDI worth Rs 1.65 lakh crore.

On Patents, he said as on November 30, 84 applications were filed by foreign entities and 523 applications were filed by Indian entities for grant of patents for products, formulation, composition and processes in the field related to traditional ayurvedic medicine, medicinal plants and herbal based formulations.

"Of these, as on that date, 26 patents have been granted to foreign entities and 93 patents to Indian entities," he said.