LAC seeks to double trade with India to $50 billion in 2 years

NEW DELHI: Countries from Latin America and the Caribbean ( LAC), want to double their trade with India to $50 billion in the next two years, exporters' body FIEO said today.

The LAC region which comprises 43 countries with a combined economy of $five trillion, offers a huge potential for growth, Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Ajay Sahai said.

The FIEO, which organised a meeting with ambassadors of some LAC countries like Columbia, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru and Panama, said India's engagement with the region has seen a 10-fold increase in the last decade.

"Since 2003-04, the pace of growth of trade has greatly accelerated with India's imports from the region growing faster than exports," Sahai said.

Of the $24.43 billion trade with LAC countries, India's exports were $10.23 billion, while imports aggregated to $14.2 billion in 2010-11.

In his presentation at the FIEO meeting, Ambassador of Columbia Juan Alfredo Pinto said, "The target is to take it to $50 billion by 2013-14".

India has two Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) in region, one with MERCOSUR (trade bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the other with Chile.

Chile, on its part, wants to upgrade its PTA with India into a full-fledged trade-opening pact covering investment and services as well. Officials from the two countries are likely to meet early next month here.

"Product is not what we want from India. We will expand the current PTA. We need to move forward to services, in order to include double-taxation agreements and investment protection...," Counsellor for Agriculture Affairs, Embassy of Chile, Rodrigo Gallardo said.