Indian exports to West Africa records high growth

India's exports to West Africa for the period April 2013 to February 2014 totalled around $6 billion, recording a 22.55 percent growth over the past year, a foreign trade performance analysis by the department of commerce under India's ministry of commerce and industry has revealed.

Nigeria topped the list with Rs.14,526.49 crore as against Rs.13,416.91 crore over the previous period and registered a growth of 8.27 percent. Ghana followed with Rs.4,651.73 crore as against Rs.3,591.09 and registered a 29.54 percent growth.

Benin registered Rs.4,384.08 crore as against Rs.2,276.32 crore and recorded a growth of 92.60 percent over the period. Exports to Togo were worth Rs.2,524.91 crore, a growth of 67.25 per cent of the previous year's figure of Rs.1,509.68. Senegal recorded a 0.64 percent growth over the previous year's figure of Rs.1,964.35 crore to Rs2,396.30 crore for the period from April 2013 to February 2014.

Exports to Cote d'Ivoire did not fare well as it registered a minus 13.14 percent fall from Rs.1,964.35 crore to Rs.1,706.30 crore.

Cameroon showed a slight increase from Rs.1,235.49 crore to Rs.1,470.65 crore. Liberia performed better registering a growth of 149.59 percent which saw exports rising from Rs.580.92 crore to Rs.1,449.91 crore.

Guinea also saw a slight increase of 14.19 percent recording Rs.1,124.07 crore from a previous figure of Rs.984.40 crore. Similarly, Mali also registered an improvement over the previous year recording a 70.92 per cent growth from Rs.350.38 crore to Rs.598.86 crore.

Burkina Faso recorded a growth of 38.82 percent moving from Rs.406.18 crore to Rs.563.86, whilst Sierra Leone recorded a negative 40.26 growth by registering Rs.512.87 crore as against a previous figure of Rs.858.44 crore.

Niger registered a 73.97 percent growth increasing its Indian imports from Rs.287.42 crore to Rs.458.85 crore whilst Gambia recorded an increase from Rs.266.27 crore to Rs.458.85 crore. Guinea Bissau recorded a 210 percent growth with a figure of Rs109.85 crore from Rs.35.44 crore in the corresponding time last year.

The total Indian exports, including re-exports, up to March 2014 were valued $9.57 billion (Rs.180,469.82 crore) which was 3.15 percent lower in dollar terms (8.61 percent higher in rupee terms) than the level of $30.54 billion (Rs.166,159.46 crore) during March 2013. Cumulative value of exports for the period April 2013 to March 2014 was $312,355.45 million (Rs.1,892,892.23 crore) as against $300,400.69 million (Rs.1,634,318.84 crore) registering a growth of 3.98 percent in dollar terms and growth of 15.82 percent in rupee terms over the same period last year.

Overall imports for the same period were valued at $40.08 billion (Rs.244,579.27 crore) representing a negative growth of 2.11 percent in dollar terms and growth of 9.79 percent in rupee terms over the level of imports valued at $40.94 billion (Rs.222,774.70 crore) in March, 2013.

Cumulative value of imports for the period April 2013 to March 2014 was $450.9 billion (Rs.2,719,206.15 crore) as against $449.07 billion (Rs.2,669,161.96 crore) registering a negative growth of 8.11 percent in dollar terms and growth of 1.87 percent in rupee terms over the same period last year.

(Francis Kokutse can be contacted at fkokutse@gmail.com)