India flags market access issues in Korea during trade ministers' meet

India flagged market access issues being faced by domestic players from several sectors such as steel, engineering, and agri products in Korea

India on Tuesday flagged market access issues being faced by domestic players from several sectors such as steel, engineering, and agri products in Korea and sought redressal of the matter with a view to boost bilateral trade ties, an official said.

The issue was raised during the meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo.

Certain industry groups are of the view that due to some stringent regulatory issues in Korea, there are difficulties in terms of market access for Indian products.

"These barriers need to be addressed and some concessions need to be made on both sides," the official said.

Among the products that are facing market access issues in Korea are bovine meat, grapes, pomegranate, okra and eggplants.

The Indian side also raised its concerns over widening trade deficit with Korea. The deficit has increased from USD 5 billion in 2008-09 to USD 8 billion in 2020-21.

Both the countries implemented the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a kind of free-trade pact, in January 2010.

The bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 17.5 billion in 2020-21. The trade is in favour of Korea.

In the last fiscal, India's imports stood at USD 128 billion while exports were only USD 4.7 billion.

During the meeting, India sought investments from Korean companies in sectors like semiconductors, chemical batteries for e-vehicles, and technical textiles.