Goyal likely to attend BRICS trade ministers' meeting in Moscow on July 26

New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to attend the BRICS trade ministers' meeting in Moscow on July 26, an official said on Friday. BRICS members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It is a grouping of major emerging economies of the world, comprising over 40 per cent of the world population and accounting over 16 per cent in the global trade.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Russia visit on July 8-9, India and Russia have set an ambitious bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030. India is focussing on various sectors like electronics, besides taking up issues of non-trade barriers removal, to boost exports to sanction-hit Russia and move towards achieving this target. At present, the bilateral trade stands at about $67 billion. The country is looking at various sets of commodities such as electronics, and engineering to increase exports to Russia.

Indian marine and pharma exporters face issues in Russia, which New Delhi is looking to resolve to facilitate the shipments. India exports a diverse range of products to Russia including smartphones, shrimp, medicine, meat, tiles, coffee, parts of airplanes and helicopters, chemicals, computers, and fruits, while main imports from Russia include oil and petroleum products, fertilisers, mineral resources, precious stones and metals, and vegetable oils.

In 2023-24, India's exports to Russia stood at $4.26 billion, while imports aggregated at $61.43 billion. The trade is highly in favour of Russia. Imports are higher because of crude oil imports. Think tank GTRI in its report has stated that steps such as increasing exports, making local currency trading workable and a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union will help boost trade between India and Russia.