Russia-India trade turnover hits record high
In 2024, the volume of trade between Russia and India exceeded a record $70.6 billion, reports RIA Novosti, citing data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This is 9.2% higher than in 2023.
Russian exports to India reached $65.7 billion, an increase of 8.4% over the same period.
Export growth was largely driven by strong performance in agricultural exports. According to preliminary estimates by the Agroexport federal centre, these increased almost threefold to 3.4 million tonnes. Leguminous crops accounted for the largest share of exports, with pea exports soaring 10.4-fold to 896,800 tonnes worth $424.9 million, making Russia the second largest supplier of this crop to India after Canada. Exports of Russian sunflower oil grew 2.4-fold, while exports of water without sugar and additives increased 5.5-fold.
For its part, India increased exports to Russia by 21% to $4.9 billion. These dynamics are conditioned by both diversification of imports and strategic partnership, against a backdrop of global economic change.
Ivan Baranov,
Managing Director, Head of Business Development, Sberbank India
We see the procurement departments of companies in various Russian industries finding more and more advantages in working with Indian suppliers. We expect the volume of exports from India to Russia to continue to grow.
In FY 2023-24, India's merchandise exports totalled $437 billion, while exports of services stood at $341 billion. Individual sectors have demonstrated strong export growth over the last decade, including mobile phones (78-fold compared to FY 2014-15), pharmaceuticals (1.9-fold), engineering (up 78%) and agriculture (2-fold). India's top export destinations include the US, the UAE, the Netherlands, China, Singapore, and the UK.
The increase in Indian exports is attributed to the high quality of internationally certified products, the relative cheapness of labour, and the targeted measures taken by the country's authorities to boost its industrial potential. Among the promising areas of Indian imports to Russian companies are, for example, technical textiles and equipment.
Find out more in our articles on promising areas of Indian exports to Russia and tips on entering the Russian market.
Sources: RIA Novosti, Interfax