India, Japan not mutual favourites in int'l trade

Even as trade hopes remain high for the upcoming visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to India, the data of bilateral trade does not reveal the strong bonhomie Abe shares with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For the past three fiscals, Japan has not featured on the top 10 trading partners of India, which in turn has about one per cent share in Japanese global trade.

However, experts say that economic ties between India and Japan are much beyond what is sold and bought at the ports.

According to the data of Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Japan's share in India has remained just over 2 per cent in the recent past. For the past three years, Japan's rank was 15th in 2014-15, 11th in 2015-16 and 13th in 2016-17.

Even worse, according to data of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), India's share in Japan's global trade is just close to 1 per cent, sometimes even less.

Observers of Indo-Japan relations are not amused with the data and claim that the data of bilateral trade is just a segment of economic relations between the countries.

"Japanese companies have invested in India, shared technology and know-how as well as formed joint ventures with Indian partners. They are putting money into India. They are very selective in imports and their exports may not be suitable to India," said Mukesh Patel, President of Indo-Japan Friendship Association – Gujarat.