Archive:India-EU – international trade in goods statistics

Data extracted in March 2021
Planned article update: March 2022

Highlights

In 2020, India was the eleventh largest partner for EU exports of goods (1.7 %) and also the eleventh largest partner for EU imports of goods (1.9 %).

Among EU Member States, Germany was both the largest importer of goods from and the largest exporter of goods to India.

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This article provides a picture of the international trade in goods between the European Union (EU) and India. It analyses the type of goods exchanged between the two economies and the shares of each EU Member State in those exchanges.

This article is part of an online publication providing recent statistics on international trade in goods, covering information on the EU's main partners, main products traded, specific characteristics of trade as well as background information.

Full article

Recent developments, impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis caused both exports and imports between the EU and India to fall in 2020. Exports reached a minimum of EUR 1.3 billion in April 2020. By December 2020 they had recovered to EUR 3.1 billion. Imports reached a minimum of EUR 1.5 billion in May 2020. By December 2020 they had recovered to EUR 3.0 billion.

Figure 1: EU trade in goods with India, 2019-2020
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc)

Figure 2 compares trade with India to trade with other non EU countries. Between January 2019 and December 2020, exports to India decreased by 2.7 % while exports to other non EU countries decreased by 2.5 %. Imports from India decreased by 8.8 % while imports from other non EU countries decreased by 9.8 %. Compared to the same month the previous year exports to India dropped 60 % in April 2020 which was the largest drop for any month in 2020 and significantly higher than for other non EU countries. Imports from India (- 56 %) dropped most in May 2020.

Figure 2: EU trade in goods with India and other non-EU countries, 2019-2020
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc)

EU and India in world trade in goods

Figure 3a shows the position of India among the largest traders of goods in the world in 2019. The four largest exporters were China (EUR 2 233 billion, 16.1 %), the EU (EUR 2 132 billion, 15.4 %), the United States (EUR 1 468 billion, 10.6 %) and Japan (EUR 630 billion, 4.6 %). The four largest importers were the United States (EUR 2 293 billion, 16.1 %), the EU (EUR 1 940 billion, 13 .7%), China (EUR 1 857 billion, 13.1 %) and Japan (EUR 644 billion, 4.5 %). Figure 3b has some more details. It shows that India (EUR 290 billion, 2.1 %) was the 13^th largest exporter in the world between Taiwan (EUR 295 billion, 2.1 %) and Utd. Arab. Em. (EUR 282 billion, 2.0 %). It was the eighth largest importer in the worldIndia (EUR 434 billion, 3.1 %) between South Korea (EUR 450 billion, 3.2 %) and Mexico (EUR 417 billion, 2.9 %).

Figure 3a: India among the world's largest traders of goods, 2019
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introeu27_2020) and UNCTAD

Top traders in goods with a focus on India, 2019 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introeu27_2020) and UNCTAD

The imports and exports of goods of the EU and India indexed at 100 in 2009 for the period to 2019 are shown in Figure 4. It also shows the cover ratio (exports / imports) for this period. Exports from the EU were lowest in 2009 (100) and highest in 2019 (180). Imports to the EU were lowest in 2009 (100) and highest in 2019 (163). The cover ratio for the EU was lowest in 2011 (97 %) and highest in 2016 (116 %) and was 110 % in 2019. Exports from India were lowest in 2009 (100) and highest in 2018 (197) and were 197 in 2019. Imports to India were lowest in 2009 (100) and highest in 2018 (200) and were 189 in 2019. The cover ratio for India was lowest in 2012 (61 %) and highest in 2016 (73 %) and was 67 % in 2019.

Figure 4: Trade in goods of the EU and India, 2009 to 2019
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introeu27_2020) and UNCTAD

Both exports to and imports from India increased between 2010 and 2020.

The position of India among the largest trade partners of the EU in 2020 can be seen in Figure 5a. The four largest export partners of the EU were the United States (18.3 %), the United Kingdom (14.4 %), China (10.5 %) and Switzerland (7.4 %). The four largest import partners of the EU were China (22.4 %), the United States (11.8 %), the United Kingdom (9.8 %) and Switzerland (6.3 %). Figure 3b has some more details. It shows that India (EUR 32 billion, 1.7 %) was the eleventh largest export partner of the EU, between Canada (EUR 33 billion, 1.7 %) and Mexico (EUR 31 billion, 1.6 %). In imports India (EUR 33 billion, 1.9 %) was the eleventh largest partner of the EU, between Vietnam (EUR 34 billion, 2.0 %) and Taiwan (EUR 26 billion, 1.5 %).

Figure 5a: India among the EU's main partners for trade in goods, 2020
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Figure 5b: Top trade in goods partners of the EU with a focus on India, 2020 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Figure 6 shows the exports, imports and trade balance between the EU and India from 2010 to 2020. In 2010, the EU had a trade surplus with India of EUR 3 billion. This changed to a deficit in and remained so until 2020 when it reached EUR billion. Both exports to and imports from India increased between 2010 and 2020. EU exports to India were highest in 2018 (EUR 40 billion) and lowest in 2013 (EUR 30 billion). EU imports from India were highest in 2019 (EUR 40 billion) and lowest in 2010 (EUR 27 billion).

Figure 6: EU trade in goods with India, 2010-2020 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

EU-India trade by type of goods

The breakdown of EU trade with India by SITC groups is shown in Figure 7. The red shades denote the primary products: food & drink, raw materials and energy, while the blue shades show the manufactured goods: chemicals, machinery & vehicles and other manufactured goods. Finally, other goods are shown in green. In 2020, EU exports of manufactured goods (86 %) had a higher share than primary goods (7 %). The most exported manufactured goods were machinery & vehicles (42 %), followed by other manufactured products (26 %) and chemicals (18 %). In 2020, EU imports of manufactured goods (86 %) also had a higher share than primary goods (13 %). The most imported manufactured goods were other manufactured products (44 %), followed by chemicals (24 %) and machinery & vehicles (19 %).

Figure 7: EU trade with India by product group, 2010 and 2020 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Figure 8 shows the evolution of EU imports and exports by SITC group since 2010. In 2020, the EU had trade surpluses in machinery & vehicles (EUR 7 billion), other products (EUR 2 billion) and raw materials (EUR 1 billion). The EU had trade deficits in energy (EUR 1 billion), food & drink (EUR 2 billion), chemicals (EUR 2 billion) and other manufactured products (EUR 6 billion).

Figure 8: EU trade with India by group, 2010-2020 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

EU-India most traded goods

More detail about the goods exchanged between the EU and India is given in Figure 9, showing the 20 most traded goods at SITC-3 level. These top 20 goods covered 37 % of total trade in goods in 2020. Seven each belonged to machinery and vehicles and other manufactured products, five to chemicals and one to energy. The most traded product group at this level was pearls and (semi-) precious stones. Another interesting way to look at the data is to investigate the cover ratio (exports / imports) of traded goods, showing the direction of the trade flows between the two economies. These ratios can be found in the right-hand margin of Figure 9. Eight products were below 50 %, indicating EU imports from India were at least twice as large as EU exports to India. Seven products were above 200 %, indicating EU exports to India were at least twice as large as EU imports from India. Five products were between 50 % and 200 %, showing more balanced trade.

Figure 9: Most traded products between EU and India, 2020 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat DS-018995

Trade with India by Member State

Table 1a shows the imports of goods from India by Member State. The three largest importers from India in the EU were Germany (EUR 7 013 million), Italy (EUR 4 236 million) and the Netherlands (EUR 3 923 million). Malta (8.9 %) had the highest share for India in its extra-EU imports.

Table 1a: EU imports of goods from India, 2020
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Table 1b shows the exports of goods to India by Member State. The three largest exporters to India in the EU were Germany (EUR 10 665 million), France (EUR 5 693 million) and Belgium (EUR 4 459 million). Belgium (3.4 %) had the highest share for India in its extra-EU exports.

Table 1b: EU exports of goods to India, 2020
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

The trade in goods balance between the EU Member States and India is shown in Table 1c. It shows that ten Member States had a trade surplus with India. The largest surplus was held by Germany (EUR 3 652 million), followed by France (EUR 1 794 million) and Belgium (EUR 592 million). There were 17 Member States that had a trade deficit with India. The largest deficit was held by the Netherlands (EUR 1 962 million), followed by Spain (EUR 1 961 million) and Italy (EUR 1 200 million).

Table 1c: EU trade balance of goods with India, 2020 (EUR million)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Source data for tables and graphs

EU - India international trade in goods statistics - graphs and tables

Data sources

EU data is taken from Eurostat's COMEXT database. COMEXT is the reference database for international trade in goods. It provides access not only to both recent and historical data from the EU Member States but also to statistics of a significant number of third countries. International trade aggregated and detailed statistics disseminated via the Eurostat website are compiled from COMEXT data according to a monthly process.

Data are collected by the competent national authorities of the Member States and compiled according to a harmonised methodology established by EU regulations before transmission to Eurostat. For extra-EU trade, the statistical information is mainly provided by the traders on the basis of customs declarations.

EU data are compiled according to Community guidelines and may, therefore, differ from national data published by the Member States. Statistics on extra-EU trade are calculated as the sum of trade of each of the 27 EU Member States with countries outside the EU. In other words, the EU is considered as a single trading entity and trade flows are measured into and out of the area, but not within it.

The United Kingdom is considered as an extra-EU partner country for the EU for the whole period covered by this article. However, the United Kingdom was still part of the internal market until the end of the transitory period (31 December 2020), meaning that data on trade with the United Kingdom are still based on statistical concepts applicable to trade between the EU Member States. Consequently, while imports from any other extra-EU trade partner are grouped by country of origin, the United Kingdom data reflect the country of consignment. In practice this means that the goods imported by the EU from the United Kingdom were physically transported from the United Kingdom but part of these goods could have been of other origin than the United Kingdom. For this reason, data on trade with the United Kingdom are not fully comparable with data on trade with other extra-EU trade partners.

Data for the non EU countries used in figures 1-3 are taken from the UNCTAD database of the United Nations. For the calculation of shares, the world trade is defined as the sum of EU trade with non-EU countries (source: Eurostat) plus the international trade of non-EU countries (source: UNCTAD).

Methodology

According to the EU concepts and definitions, extra-EU trade statistics (trade between EU Member States and non-EU countries) do not record exchanges involving goods in transit, placed in a customs warehouse or given temporary admission (for trade fairs, temporary exhibitions, tests, etc.). This is known as ‘special trade’. The partner is the country of final destination of the goods for exports and the country of origin for imports.

Product classification

Information on commodities exported and imported is presented according to the Standard international trade classification (SITC). A full description is available from Eurostat’s classification server RAMON.

Unit of measure

Trade values are expressed in millions or billions (10⁹) of euros. They correspond to the statistical value, i.e. to the amount which would be invoiced in case of sale or purchase at the national border of the reporting country. It is called a FOB value (free on board) for exports and a CIF value (cost, insurance, freight) for imports.

Context

Trade is an important indicator of Europe’s prosperity and place in the world. The bloc is deeply integrated into global markets both for the products it sources and the exports it sells. The EU trade policy is one of the main pillars of the EU’s relations with the rest of the world.

Because the 27 EU Member States share a single market and a single external border, they also have a single trade policy. EU Member States speak and negotiate collectively, both in the World Trade Organization, where the rules of international trade are agreed and enforced, and with individual trading partners. This common policy enables them to speak with one voice in trade negotiations, maximising their impact in such negotiations. This is even more important in a globalised world in which economies tend to cluster together in regional groups.

The openness of the EU’s trade regime has meant that the EU is the biggest player on the global trading scene and remains a good region to do business with. Thanks to the ease of modern transport and communications, it is now easier to produce, buy and sell goods around the world which gives European companies of every size the potential to trade outside Europe.