Indian exports to UAE rise 14% YoY post CEPA

India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has shared its report on trade between the UAE and India since the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) earlier this year.

Read: UAE and India sign Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

India’s non-oil exports to the UAE rose five times in the three months post the agreement compared to India’s non-petroleum exports to the world during the same period, according to a report published by India’s Press Information Bureau.

Indian exports to the UAE, excluding petroleum products, grew from $5.17bn from June to August last year to $5.92bn from June to August, which works out to a year-on-year increase of 14 per cent, according to the ministry.

India’s global non-petroleum exports from June to August grew by three per cent annually. This implies that the growth rate of India’s non-petroleum exports to the UAE is almost five times that of India’s non-petroleum exports to the world, the report revealed.

It is predicted that Indian exports to the UAE will increase further in the coming months with the growing use of the CEPA by exporters and a series of trade promotion events in the UAE during the current financial year.

Although the CEPA went into force on May 1, figures for the first month of its implementation were not included in the study because it was considered a transition period. Hence the analysis is for three months, from June to August.

During the same period, India’s imports from the UAE grew from $5.56bn to $5.61bn. The ministry stated that the trade increase in both directions is significant “in the context of global macro-economic headwinds, including policy tightening in advanced economies, global growth slowdown and a reduction in international merchandise trade.”

In other news, according to the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the apex body of the country’s export promotion councils, Indian exports to the GCC grew by 44 per cent in FY 2021-22 to $43.9bn compared to last FY’s $27.8bn.

Read: Indian exports to GCC rise 44% to $43.9bn in FY 2021-22: FIEO