Thumbs Up For Indian Commerce: Containerised Foreign Trade Jumps 10 Per Cent In Third Quarter Of FY17

India's containerised overseas trade grew 10 per cent by volume in the third quarter (Q3) of the fiscal year 2017 (FY17), Maersk India has said, analysing data for trade with over 200 countries. The trend is likely to continue, the Economic Times reported.

The report states, "As the exuberance around the recent rankings conferred on India by the World Bank and Moody's just about begins to alleviate, the country gets yet another reason to celebrate, with its global containerised import-export recording its highest growth... At a strong 10 per cent in Q3 of 2017".

The growth is led by rising exports to Mediterranean and North American nations, registering a surge by 14 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively.

Among the Mediterranean countries, Turkey emerged as India's largest export trading partner in terms of overall volumes, due to growing demand for textiles from the northern states of India, as well as vehicles and metal from the western region of the country, it said.

Exports to Algeria, on the other hand, showed the highest jump at 28 per cent growth in Q3 2017 compared to 12 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

Additionally, appliances and kitchenware exports to UAE gained significant steam by recording a 38 per cent growth in the third quarter of 2017, as against a negative growth of 44 per cent in the same period last year.

Demand for India-made appliances and kitchenware in Saudi Arabia also witnessed a 8 per cent growth in Q3 2017.

"The growth we have seen this quarter reflects the resilience of India’s global trade environment. Not only India repeatedly outpacing the global growth average, but it is also one of the strongest global import-export partners amongst the BRICS nations," Maersk Line India MD, Steve Felder said.

He said as local businesses supported by the government reforms continued, Maersk Line is committed to continuing to invest in further to enhance its capabilities.

"Given the evolving positive trends, we expect this growth to at least be maintained, and possibly grown further in 2018. Growth can be further sped up by the swift implementation of the various infrastructure projects, such as Sagarmala and Dedicated Freight Corridors,” the report predicted. (PTI)