India for removing trade barriers, boosting exports for more balanced trade with Russia

New Delhi: India on Thursday emphasised on the need to reduce trade barriers, and boost exports to Russia with an aim to bridge the widening trade deficit between the two countries.

Addressing the businesses from India and Russia here, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said there are huge opportunities to expand bilateral trade and there is a need to make it more balanced.

He said sectors that hold potential to boost exports from India to Russia include consumer goods, food products, automobiles, tractors, heavy commercial vehicles, electronics like smartphones, industrial components, and textiles.

The bilateral trade has crossed USD 70 billion "but we cannot rest, we need to grow, we need to balance that," Goyal said here at India-Russia Business Forum meeting, organised by industry chamber FICCI.

He said the trade gap is "very" skewed.

"We need to bring more diversity in our trade basket. We need to make it more balanced. We need more variety and there is so much to offer between the two countries," he said adding there is untapped potential which needs to be explored.

"We can take so much from Russia and we have so much to offer to Russia. Sky is the limit...and that will address the trade imbalance in the near future...we will work together to eliminate or reduce or dilute the trade barriers, if any," the minister said.

The bilateral trade relations are significant as India is facing a steep 50 per cent tariffs by the Trump administration and Russia facing western sanctions due to war with Ukraine.

India's exports to Russia increased to USD 4.9 billion in 2024-25 from USD 4.26 billion in the previous fiscal, while imports rose to USD 63.8 billion from USD 61.15 billion.

The trade deficit has widened to about USD 59 billion from USD 56.89 billion in 2023-24. The two sides have fixed a target of USD 100 billion bilateral trade by 2030.

He also said India can offer its expertise in services sector also. Russia has a talent shortage of about three million, which India can meet, he noted.

Speaking at the meeting, Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation, said India's share in Russia's imports is less than 2 per cent and it needs to be increased.

There is a need to increase this for a more balanced trade, Oreshkin said.

He added that in six major areas India can increase the supplies and that include agriculture, pharma, telecom equipment, industrial components, and human resources.

He is part of the Russian delegation, which is led by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian leader's nearly 27-hour visit to New Delhi assumes significance as it is taking place against the backdrop of rapid downturn in India-US relations.

"Russian delegation and businesses are here for a specific purposes and that is to increase supplies of Indian goods and services," Oreshkin said adding India is one of the key drivers of the global economy and capabilities of India to supply to Russia are not fully utilised.

Russia, he said, is ready to welcome Indian goods and services and it will help in logistics, payments and certification.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal emphasised on the need to simplify processes so that Indian businesses can increase exports to Russia.

He said that to achieve the USD 100 billion trade target by 2030 and make the trade more balanced, there is a need to change the composition of goods traded.

"There are multiple areas where India's exports to Russia are missing right now whether it is auto, auto components, textiles, leather, pharma, healthcare, and IT services," the secretary said.

India can help Russia diversify their trade and make their supply chains more resilient, he said adding immense scope is there to increase trade in agri and marine sectors.

However to do this, he said, both sides have to work on making rules and procedures simpler for businesses.

"The task in the government is clear. Can we make things easier for our businesses to trade on both sides. The regulators need to talk to each other, understand and resolve issues and not add issues," he said adding standards and certification should match each other.

He urged for long-term predictable processes which give confidence to businesses.

"Can we lay down procedures which are more like a bridge rather than a hurdle," Agrawal said.

The first round of negotiations between India and Russia-led group EAEU concluded last week here.

"It will open host of opportunities for businesses to trade with each other," the secretary said.

At the services front, he said India has huge strength in this segment.

"Can we have a bilateral agreement or arrangement to spur this relationship in the space of trade in services," he added.

The country's export basket include machinery (USD 367.8 million), pharmaceuticals (USD 246 million) and organic chemicals (USD 165.8 million), smartphones (USD 75.9 million), Vannamei shrimp (USD 75.7 million), meat (USD 63 million) and garments at just USD 20.94 million.

On the import side, petroleum dominates overwhelmingly, led by crude oil (USD 23.1 billion), petroleum products (USD 2.5 billion), coal (USD 1.9 billion), fertilisers (USD 1.3 billion) and sunflower seed oil (USD 633 million) and diamonds ( USD 202 million).