look news india
New Delhi: If tension increases between Iran and Israel, not only India's exports to West Asia but also trade with Africa may be affected. Government sources said exports to Africa are likely to be affected as a large amount of goods there are sent through the UAE (a major hub for goods traffic from the West Asia region).
About 10 percent of the total exports from India go to the entire African continent. In the first seven months of the current financial year, goods worth $13.9 billion have been exported from this region. The Commerce Department is monitoring the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.
The government is talking to exporters about how disruptions in the movement of goods and the country's dependence on petroleum imports could impact trade.
If a war breaks out between Iran and Israel, its impact will not be limited to just these two countries. This will impact the entire West Asia because this region has a major contribution in the increase in demand. A lot of goods are also exported from West Asia. In such a situation, if this sector is affected then our exports to Africa and East Asia will be affected.
From April to July in the current financial year, India exported goods worth $20 billion to West Asia, which is 14 percent of the total exports during this period. Eighty-six percent of exports to West Asian countries go to the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
Along with exports, imports may also be affected as India is dependent on West Asian countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and UAE for petroleum imports. The good thing is that India is now importing petroleum from other countries also and is not completely dependent on West Asian countries.