Trade sees big opportunity in Russia

Trade experts see immense bilateral opportunities between India and Russia during Russian president Dimitry Medvedev's ongoing visit.

"With higher purchasing power and extreme climatic conditions, Russia can be a big market for niche products like leather garments and footwear from India.

There is tremendous potential of exports of pharmaceuticals also as currently Russia imports a huge part of its domestic demand from European countries," Ajay Sahai, director general of Federation of Indian Exporters Organisations, said.

According to Sahai, the issue of phytosanitary standards for agricultural commodities and cereals would be addressed during the Russian president's visit.

In 2009-10 bilateral merchandise trade between India and Russia stood at $4.5 billion, and industry estimates suggest that this could go up by a maximum of 50 per cent to $7 billion this year. Exports from India stood at $980.69 million, while India's imports from Russia were at $3.5 billion.

Raseeque Ahmed, trade expert at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), however, points out that the two countries would have to concentrate on opening up of banking and financial institutions to smoothen bilateral trade.