NEW Delhi, India Feb 2 – The bilateral trade between India and Turkey increased 41 per cent in April-November 2022 year-on-year, driven primarily by higher imports of petroleum crude, data from the Ministry of Commerce shows.
This is contrary to the trend seen in the last two years, where India’s exports to Turkey were driving the trade between the two countries.
An analysis of data from the ministry by ThePrint shows that merchandise trade between India and Turkey grew significantly in FY23, rising to $9.12 billion in April-November 2022 from $6.44 billion in the same period in 2021.
Indian exports grew 20 per cent, touching $6.18 billion from $5.12 billion during the same period in 2021, a breakup of the trade growth from April-November 2022 shows. Turkish imports grew to $2.94 billion from $1.33 billion — a whopping 120 per cent, data shows.
This means imports added $550 million more to the total bilateral goods trade than exports.
In contrast, the trade growth between FY 2019-2020 and FY 2021-22 tells a different story.
According to the government’s data, India-Turkey bilateral goods trade grew to $10.71 billion in FY22 from $7.08 billion in FY20 — a 51 per cent rise over pre-pandemic levels. However, a breakup shows that Indian exports grew 75 per cent while imports of Turkish goods fell 5 per cent over pre-pandemic levels.
According to Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) director general Ajay Sahai, there could be two reasons behind the spike in imports from Turkey in the first eight months of the current financial year.
“It’s possible that some Russian goods like petroleum crude are being rerouted through Turkey and that it could also be that the depreciating lira has made Turkey’s exports more competitive,” Sahai told ThePrint.
The Turkish lira fell approximately 30 per cent last year, as its central bank slashed interest rates despite rising inflation. Usually, a devalued currency can make exports more competitive because goods and services will cost less in the international market.
