India’s trade deficit with China swells to $51.9 billion in 2015

India's trade deficit with China increased to $51.86 billion in 2015, Parliament was informed on Monday. "Increasing trade deficit with China can primarily be attributed to the fact that Chinese exports to India rely strongly on manufactured items meeting the demand of fast-expanding sectors like telecom and power while India's exports to China are characterised by primary products, raw material and intermediate products," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

She said India's trade deficit with China stood at $51.86 billion, with a bilateral trade of $71.22 billion in 2015. During this period, India's exports to China came in at $9.68 billion while imports were $61.54 billion. In a separate reply, she said Indian MSMEs are facing significant competition from Chinese imports.

"In respect of 12 major product groups largely manufactured by MSMEs, imports from China grew at a higher rate than respective imports from all other countries combined during 2011-2 to 2014-15," she said. So far, there have been 322 anti-dumping cases, of which 177 cases involve China. "In order to boost exports and maintain balance of trade with China, India has impressed upon China to recognise the need for reduction in trade imbalance for a long term, sustainable and harmonious development of economic cooperation between the two countries," Sitharaman added. Meanwhile, country’s vegetable oils import rose by 28 per cent to 11.10 lakh tonnes last month due to higher shipments of refined plamolein on low global prices, according to industry body SEA. “Import of vegetable oils during February 2016 is reported at 11,10,916 tonnes compared to 868,167 tonnes in February, 2015,” Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.

During November-February period of the current 2015-16 oil year, the import of vegetable oils (comprising edible and non-edible oils) increased by 19 per cent to 51,25,017 tonnes as compared to 42,95,443 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year, it said.