By IANS,
New Delhi: India’s exports to the Latin American and African region stood at $20.58 billion last fiscal, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said Monday.
“India’s exports to the Latin American region increased from $2.16 billion in 2004-05 to $6.01 billion in 2008-09, registering a growth of about 178 percent,” Scindia told the Lok Sabha.
“Likewise, our exports to Africa increased from $5.6 billion in 2004-05 to $14.57 billion in 2008-09, registering a growth of about 160 percent.”
He also said the government had taken steps to expand the existing India-Chile Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and India-Mercosur (a bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) Trade Agreement to “enhance our exports to the Latin American region”.
Negotiations for a PTA with South Africa Customs Union (SACU), comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland, were also on, Scindia added.