South Korea Registering Higher Trade Volume than Japan in India Year after Year

To fulfill their mission of looking for an alternate turf beyond China for the expansion of trade and settle for the upcoming years, both Japan and South Korea are making intense efforts to strengthen their business ties with India.

As South Korea entered India later than Japan, it adopted an aggressive approach to progressing ahead. Besides touching new heights each year from its trade with India, the number of Korean companies entering India is also increasing more rapidly than its adversary Japan.

According to the latest India-Korea bilateral trade volume data, the annual trade of South Korea with India in the year 2022 reached an all-time high figure of USD 27.8 billion. Export of USD 18.9 billion and imports of USD 8.9 billion from India are included.

The rise in exports and imports was assisted by economic activity and industrial output rebound. Bilateral trade figures for India-Korea were registered at USD 23.7 billion the previous year.

With diversity, Japan has stayed around USD 20 billion annually for the past 2 years. As the fourth largest investor in the Indian economy, with cumulative FDI inflows of USD 38.13 billion (from April 2000 to September 2022), Japan has registered bilateral trade volume with India at almost USD 18.5 billion in 2022(from January-November).

If India and South Korea have the commitment to take their bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030, Japan has taken a pledge to invest JPY 5 trillion in the next five years in India.

During his first visit to India last year in March, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the investment target of “five trillion yen” (USD 42 billion) in the next five years during a summit with Indian PM Narendra Modi.

On a previous occasion, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in had pledged, along with PM Modi, to take bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030. The trade bodies of South Korea, such as the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Korean Chamber of Commerce in India (KOCHAM), and I-KOSME are making intense efforts in India for the expansion of Korean corporate footprint in the nation.

Korean companies are increasing in India every year. Samsung set up its most extensive smartphone manufacturing facility in the world in Noida, Uttar Pradesh is the prime example of the aggressive approach adopted by Korea in India.

According to a report which has not been confirmed yet, Korean companies increased in number in the pandemic time period from around 750 just before the pandemic and crossing the 800 mark in 2022.

The Managing Director of Southwest Asia, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), New Delhi Joonhwa BIN, said, “The bilateral trade between India and South Korea has achieved an all-time high volume of USD 27.8 billion during the year 2022.

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