CANADA / MUMBAI, 1st SEPTEMBER, 2020 (GPN): India exported USD 2.89billion worth merchandise products to Canada in 2019, with an annual growth in value equivalent to 11% between 2015-2019. However, Canada had a share of less than 1% in India’s merchandise exports. Similarly, India had a share of just about 0.6% in Canada’s merchandise imports of USD 453 billion from the world in 2019. The two countries are negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. It, therefore, becomes imperative to enrich our trade ties and boost our economic partnership.

Ms. Rupa Naik, Senior Director, MVIRDC World Trade Center (WTC) Mumbai suggests, “There is a dire need to enhance trade between the two nations and gain from our complementarities and competitive advantages. In order to recover from the COVID-19 economic shock, we need to improve our income prospects, which can come through trade. The US and the EU have recently struck a deal for reducing tariffs on certain products to improve market access between the two countries. India too should enter into such agreements to gain from trade”.

WTC Mumbai has identified Indian commodities (at HS Code 6-digit level) that based on past trends look promising for exporting to Canada. The data is sourced from the database of International Trade Centre. Table 1 highlights India’s Top 20 merchandise exports to Canada in 2019. These products constituted about 37% of India’s merchandise exports to Canada.

Products such as Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, Semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed, Articles of plastics and articles of other materials of heading 3901 to 3914, n.e.s, Heterocyclic compounds with nitrogen hetero-atom[s] only, Parts and accessories, for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, Articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excluding cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire), Turbojets of a thrust > 25 kN, and Grinding balls and similar articles for mills showed double-digit annual growth in value in India’s exports to Canada, between 2015-2019.

Whereas, India’s exports of products such as Line pipe of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines,having circular cross-sections, Oilcake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, Tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, welded, of circular cross-section, of iron or non-alloy steel, and Office machines, n.e.s. to Canada grew humongously, between 2015-2019.

A majority of these products also showed positive annual growth in Canada’s imports of these products from the world between 2015-2019. However, while Canada’s imports of these products from the world were of a much higher value than India’s exports of these products to Canada in 2019, many of these exports from India to Canada also had a low share in India’s exports of these products to the world in 2019, suggesting that there is ample scope for increasing exports of these products from India to Canada in future.

Table 2 highlights India’s other major merchandise exports to Canada with growth potential.While India’s exports of a majority of these products to Canada grew annually in double-digits between 2015-2019, exports of products such as Line pipe of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines, seamless, of iron or steel, Shrimps and prawns, prepared or preserved, in airtight containers (excluding smoked), Antisera and other blood fractions and immunological products, whether or not modified, Casing and tubing, seamless, of iron or steel, of a kind used in drilling for oil or gas, Line pipe of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines, welded, of flat-rolled products of iron, Chemical contraceptive preparations based on hormones, prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes, and Organic derivatives of hydrazine or of hydroxylamine showed substantial growth between 2015-2019.

Canada’s imports of these products from the world also grew annuallyat over 5% between 2015-2019. However, Canada had a low share in India’s exports of many of these products to the world in 2019, and therefore, India’s exports of these products to Canada can be enhanced.

Table 1: India’s Top 20 Merchandise Exports to Canada
		India’s Exports to Canada				Canada’s Imports from World
HS Code (6-digit level)	Product Description	Value in 2019, USD Million	Annual growth in value between 2015-2019, %, p.a.	Share in India’s Exports, %	Value in 2019, USD Million		Annual growth in value between 2015-2019, %, p.a.
TOTAL	All products	2,898	11	1	4,53,157		3
300490	Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, …	206	17	2	6,583		2
30617	Frozen shrimps and prawns, even smoked, whether in shell or not, incl. shrimps and prawns in …	91	3	2	331		0
730511	Line pipe of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines, having circular cross-sections and an external …	88	2045	21	344		17
711319	Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal other than silver, whether or not …	69	-3	1	784		4
100630	Semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed	66	14	1	358		8
870323	Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. …	63		3	15,055		3
392690	Articles of plastics and articles of other materials of heading 3901 to 3914, n.e.s (excluding …	54	18	9	1,541		4
271012	Light oils and preparations, of petroleum or bituminous minerals which >= 90% by volume “incl. …	46		0	8,761		8
293399	Heterocyclic compounds with nitrogen hetero-atom[s] only (excluding those containing an unfused …	42	48	4	172		1
710239	Diamonds, worked, but not mounted or set (excluding industrial diamonds)	42	4	0	307		-3
870899	Parts and accessories, for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, …	40	11	2	3,512		-1
230400	Oilcake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting …	31	116	4	347		5
732599	Cast articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excluding articles of non-malleable cast iron, and …	30	5	4	56		0
610910	T-shirts, singlets and other vests of cotton, knitted or crocheted	29	2	1	518		6
732690	Articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excluding cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire)	29	42	4	979		2
841112	Turbojets of a thrust > 25 kN	29	73	1	1,014		-2
732591	Grinding balls and similar articles for mills, cast (excluding such articles of non-malleable …	27	11	14	33		-4
730630	Tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, welded, of circular cross-section, of iron or non-alloy steel …	26	107	9	419		8
630260	Toilet linen and kitchen linen, of terry towelling or similar terry fabrics of cotton (excluding …	25	2	2	133		3
847290	Office machines, n.e.s.	25	1100	13	214		6

Source: ITC

Note: India’s exports have been reported by India. Canada’s imports have been reported by Canada.

Table 2: India’s Other Major Merchandise Exports to Canada with Growth Potential
		India’s Exports to Canada				Canada’s Imports from World
HS Code (6-digit level)	Product Description	Value in 2019, USD Million	Annual growth in value between 2015-2019, %, p.a.	Share in India’s Exports, %	Value in 2019, USD Million		Annual growth in value between 2015-2019, %, p.a.
730419	Line pipe of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines, seamless, of iron or steel (excluding products …	23	171	50	107		12
160529	Shrimps and prawns, prepared or preserved, in airtight containers (excluding smoked)	19	47	8	21		26
630532	Flexible intermediate bulk containers, for the packing of goods, of synthetic or man-made textile …	18	13	3	48		6
300210	Antisera and other blood fractions and immunological products, whether or not modified or obtained …	18	351	10	3,651		10
210690	Food preparations, n.e.s.	18	14	5	1,459		5
730429	Casing and tubing, seamless, of iron or steel, of a kind used in drilling for oil or gas (excluding …	15	283	85	280		6
730721	Flanges of stainless steel (excluding cast products)	14	27	7	36		9
120740	Sesamum seeds, whether or not broken	13	10	2	21		9
291469	Quinones (excluding anthraquinone)	13	6	44	17		11
730619	Line pipe of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines, welded, of flat-rolled products of iron …	8	56	12	57		6
300660	Chemical contraceptive preparations based on hormones, prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes, …	8	55	5	152		5
841391	Parts of pumps for liquids, n.e.s.	8	29	2	853		5
853890	Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of heading 8535, 8536 or 8537, …	8	8	2	385		6
251620	Sandstone, whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks …	7	17	4	5		5
300390	Medicaments consisting of two or more constituents mixed together for therapeutic or prophylactic …	7	12	2	134		11
292800	Organic derivatives of hydrazine or of hydroxylamine	7	73	4	12		14
392062	Plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of non-cellular poly”ethylene terephthalate”, not reinforced, …	6	32	2	175		9
722300	Wire of stainless steel, in coils (excluding bars and rods)	6	31	2	37		13
850220	Generating sets with spark-ignition internal combustion piston engine	5	11	10	219		8
293349	Heterocyclic compounds with nitrogen hetero-atom[s] only, containing in the structure a quinoline …	5	34	4	49		44

Source: ITC

Note: India’s exports have been reported by India. Canada’s imports have been reported by Canada ENDS