According to Foreign Trade Policy 2023, India prioritizes creating favorable conditions for domestic production for export; therefore Vietnam still has the opportunity to export commodity groups such as agricultural and aquatic products, raw materials, machinery for agricultural production, fertilizers and chemicals to this market.

According to information from the Asia-Africa Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), India's Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 sets an export target of USD 2 trillion by 2030, of which, exports of goods to reach USD 1 trillion and exports of services to reach USD 1 trillion.

The policy was announced on March 31, effective from April 1, 2023, the start of the fiscal year 2023 - 2024. Under this target, it is expected that the annual export growth of India will reach 10%.

In fact, as of the end of fiscal year 2022 - 2023 (April 2022 - March 2023), India's total import and export turnover of goods reached USD 1,161 billion. In which, exports reached USD 447 billion, increased by 6% compared to the fiscal year 2021 - 2022; imports reached USD 714 billion, increased by 16.5% compared to the fiscal year 2021 - 2022.

Also under this Policy, India will simplify business operations through management, licensing and approval of documents online, reducing administrative procedures and cutting costs of performing administrative procedures for businesses.

In order to develop domestic production, India is expected to continue to increase the import of raw materials for production activities for domestic consumption and export. It is predicted that India will continue to increase imports of agricultural and aquatic products, spices, agricultural products, agricultural machinery and equipment.

This will be a good opportunity for Vietnamese businesses that are interested in and wish to promote exports to the Indian market, especially for Vietnam's strong commodities such as agricultural products (coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, cinnamon, anise, ginger, turmeric, etc.), aquatic products, fertilizers, chemicals, agricultural machinery, consumer products, etc.

In addition, the rapid growth of India's population (which has surpassed China to become the world's most populous country), the rapid recovery of the economy after the pandemic, and the strong growth of the middle class also make this market become more attractive.

India is currently the 8th largest trading partner of Vietnam. Vietnam - India trade turnover accounts for about 80% of Vietnam's total turnover with other South Asian countries. Meanwhile, Vietnam is currently the 23rd largest trading partner in the world and the 4th largest trading partner in the ASEAN region of India.

Kylie Nguyen