You have already studied about the various

Unit IV
aspects of International trade in the book
Chapter 8 Fundamentals of Human Geography.
International Trade is mutually beneficial as
no country is self-sufficient. India’s
international trade has undergone a sea change
in recent years in terms of volume, composition
as well as direction. Although India’s
contribution in the world trade is as low as
one per cent of the total volume, yet it plays a
significant role in the world economy.
Let us examine the changing pattern of
India’s International trade. In 1950-51, India’s
INTERNATIONAL external trade was worth Rs.1,214 crore, which
rose to Rs. 44,29,762 crore in 2016-17. Can
TRADE you calculate the percentage growth in 2016-
17 over 1950-51? There are numerous
reasons for this sharp rise in overseas trade,
such as the momentum picked up by the
manufacturing sectors, the liberal policies of
the government and the diversification of
markets.
The nature of India’s foreign trade has
changed over the years (Table 8.1). Though
there has been an increase in the total
volume of import and export, the value of
import continued to be higher than that of
exports.

Changing Pa ttern of the

Pa
Composition of India’ s Expor
India’s ts
Exports
Extent of gap between Exports and Imports in India’s
foreign trade During 2012-13 to 2016-17

Source : Economic Survey, 2016-17

Fig. 8.1

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 Table 8.1 India’s Foreign Trade
Value in Rs. Crores
Year Exports Imports Trade Balance

2004-05 3,75,340 5,01,065 -1,25,725

2009-10 8,45,534 13,63,736 -5,18,202
2013-14 19,05,011 27,15,434 -8,10,423
2016-17 18,52,340 25,77,422 -7,25,082

Source : http://commerce.nic.in/publications/annual-report - 2010-11 and Economic Survey 2016-17

Draw bar diagram to show the trends of exports of all items given in the table. Use pen/pencil of different colours.

Table 8.2 : Composition of India’s Export, 2009-2017

(Percentage share in Exports)
Commodities 2009-10 2010-11 2015-16 2016-17

Agriculture and allied products 10.0 9.9 12.6 12.3

Ore and Minerals 4.9 4.0 1.6 1.9
Manufactured goods 67.4 68.0 72.9 73.6
Crude and petroleum products 16.2 16.8 11.9 11.7
Other commodities 1.5 1.2 1.1 0.5

Source : Economic Survey 2016-17

The composition of commodities in East Asian countries are our major competitors.
India’s international trade has been Gems and jewellery contributes a larger share
undergoing a change over the years. The of India’s foreign trade.
share of agriculture and allied products has
declined, whereas, shares of petroleum and
crude products and other commodities have
Study Table 8.3 and select major commodities exported
increased. The shares of ore minerals and in 2016-17 and draw bar diagram.
manufactured goods have largely remained
constant over the years from 2009-10 to
2010-11and 2015-16 to 2016-17. Changing Patterns of the Composition of
India’s Import
The decline in traditional items is largely
due to the tough international competition. India faced serious food shortage during
Amongst the agricultural products, there is a 1950s and 1960s. The major item of import
decline in the export of traditional items, such at that time was foodgrain, capital goods,
as coffee, cashew, etc., though an increase has machinery and equipment. The balance of
been registered in floricultural products, fresh payment was adverse as imports were more
fruits, marine products and sugar, etc. than export in spite of all the efforts of import
Manufacturing sector alone accounted for substitution. After 1970s, foodgrain import
73.6 per cent of India’s total value of export in was discontinued due to the success of Green
2016-17. Engineering goods have shown a revolution but the energy crisis of 1973
significant growth in the export. China and other pushed the prices of petroleum, and import

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Table 8.3 : Export of Some Principal Commodities equipment, manufacturers of metals and
(in crore rupees) machine tools were the main items of capital
Commodities 2016-17 goods. Import of food and allied products
declined with a fall in imports of edible oils.
Agriculture and allied products 228001 Other major items of India’s import include
Ores and Minerals 35947 pearls and semi-precious stones, gold and
Manufactured goods 1363232 silver, metalliferrous ores and metal scrap,
Mineral fuels and Lubricants 216280 non-ferrous metals, electronic goods, etc. The
details of Indian imports of some principal
Source : Economic Survey 2016-17.
commodities during 2016-17 have been given
in Table 8.5.
budget was also pushed up. Foodgrain import
was replaced by fertilisers and petroleum.
Machine and equipment, special steel, edible
oil and chemicals largely make the import Based on Table 8.5, few activities may
basket. Examine the changing pattern of be undertaken:
imports in Table 8.4 and try to comprehend Arrange the items in ascending or
the shifts. descending order and write the names
Table 8.4 shows that there is a steep of the first five major items of India’s
import list of 2016-17.
rise in the import of petroleum products. It
is used not only as a fuel but also as an Why does India import edible oil in spite
of being an agriculturally rich country?
industrial raw material. It indicates the
tempo of rising industrialisation and better Select five most important and five least
important items and represent them by
standard of living. Sporadic price rise in the
bar diagram.
international market is another reason for the
Can you identify some items of imports
same. Import of capital goods maintained a
for which substitutes can be developed
steady increase due to rising demand in the in India?
export-oriented industrial and domestic
sectors. Non-electrical machinery, transport

Table 8.4 : India Composition of Import 2009-17

(In percentage)
Commodity Group 2009-10 2010-11 2015-16 2016-17

Food and allied products 3.7 2.9 5.1 5.6

Fuel (Coal, POL) 33.2 31.3 25.4 26.7
Fertilisers 2.3 1.9 2.1 1.3
Paper board manufacturing and news print 0.5 0.6 0.8 0.9
Capital goods 15.0 13.1 13.0 13.6
Others 42.6 47.7 38.1 37.0

Source : Economic Survey 2016-17

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Table 8.5 : Import of Some Principal Commodities
(in crore rupees)
Commodities 2016-17 Draw a multiple bar diagram to represent the
major trading partners.
Fertilisers and fertiliser manufacturing 33726
Edible oils 73048 Most of India’s foreign trade is carried
Pulp and waste paper 6537 through sea and air routes. However, a small
Non-ferrous metals 262961 portion is also carried through land route to
Iron and steel 55278 neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan,
Petroleum, oil and lubricants 582762 Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Pearls, precious and 159464
semi-precious stones Sea P or
Por
orts Gate
ts as Ga tew
te w a y s of
Medicinal and Pharma products 33504 Interna tional T
International Trr ade
Chemical products 147350
India is surrounded by sea from three sides
Source : Economic Survey 2016-17
and is bestowed with a long coastline. Water
provides a smooth surface for very cheap
Direction of Trade
transport provided there is no turbulence. India
India has trade relations with most of the
countries and major trading blocks of the
world.
Region-wise and sub-region-wise trade
during the period 2016-17 has been given in
Table 8.6.

Table 8.6 Direction of India’s Import trade

(in crore rupees)
Region Imports
2010-11 2016-17

Europe 323857 403972

Africa 118612 193327
North America 100602 195332
Latin America 64576 115762
Asia and ASEAN 1029881 1544520

Source : Department of Commerce based on DCCI&S

provisional data, Economic Survey 2011-12 and 2016-17.

Fig. 8.3 : Unloading of goods on port

India aims to double its share in the
international trade within the next five years. It has a long tradition of sea faring and developed
has already started adopting suitable measures many ports with place name suffixed with
such as import liberalisation, reduction in pattan meaning port. An interesting fact about
import duties, delicensing and change from ports in India is that its west coast has more
process to product patents. ports than its east coast.

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 have been invited for the modernisation of
ports in India.
Can you find out the reasons for the The capacity of Indian ports increased from
variations in the location of ports along 20 million tonnes of cargo handling in 1951 to
the two coasts? more than 837 million tonnes in 2016.
Some of the Indian ports along with their
Though ports have been in use since hinterlands are as follows :
ancient times, the emergence of ports as Kandla Port situated at the head of Gulf
gateways of international trade became of Kuchchh has been developed as a major
important after the coming of the European port to cater to the needs of western and north
traders and colonisation of the country by the western parts of the country and also to
British. This led to the variation in the size and reduce the pressure at Mumbai port. The port
quality of ports. There are some ports which have is specially designed to receive large
very vast area of influence and some have limited quantities of petroleum and petroleum
area of influence. At present, India has 12 major products and fertiliser. The offshore terminal
ports and 200 minor or intermediate ports. In at Vadinar has been developed to reduce the
case of the major ports, the central government pressure at Kandla port.
decides the policy and plays regulatory Demarcation of the boundary of the
functions. The minor ports are there whose hinterland would be difficult as it is not fixed
policy and functions are regulated by state over space. In most of the cases, hinterland
governments. The major ports handle larger of one port may overlap with that of the other.
share of the total traffic. Mumbai is a natural harbour and the
The British used the ports as suction points biggest port of the country. The port is
of the resources from their hinterlands. The situated closer to the general routes from the
extension of railways towards the interior countries of Middle East, Mediterranean
facilitated the linking of the local markets to countries, North Africa, North America and
regional markets, regional markets to national Europe where the major share of country’s
markets and national markets to the international overseas trade is carried out. The port is 20
markets. This trend continued till 1947. It was km long and 6-10 km wide with 54 berths
expected that the country’s Independence will and has the country’s largest oil terminal.
reverse the process, but the partition of the M.P., Maharashtra, Gujarat, U.P. and parts
country snatched away two very important ports, of Rajasthan constitute the main hinterlands
i.e., Karachi port went to Pakistan and Chittagong of Mumbai ports.
port to the erstwhile east-Pakistan and now Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva
Bangladesh. To compensate the losses, many new was developed as a satellite port to relieve the
ports, like the Kandla in the west and the pressure at the Mumbai port. It is the largest
Diamond Harbour near Kolkata on river Hugli in container port in India.
the east were developed. Marmagao Port, situated at the entrance
Despite this major setback, Indian ports of the Zuari estuary, is a natural harbour in
continued to grow after the Independence. Goa. It gained significance after its remodelling
Today, Indian ports are handling large in 1961 to handle iron-ore exports to Japan.
volumes of domestic, as well as, overseas Construction of Konkan railway has
trade. Most of the ports are equipped with considerably extended the hinterland of this
modern infrastructure. Previously, the port. Karnataka, Goa, Southern Maharashtra
development and modernisation was the constitute its hinterland.
responsibility of the government agencies, New Mangalore Port is located in the state
but considering the increase in function and of Karnataka and caters to the needs of the
need to bring these ports at par with the export of iron-ore and iron-concentrates. It also
international ports, private entrepreneurs handles fertilisers, petroleum products, edible

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Fig. 8.4 : India – Major Ports and Sea Routes

International Trade 91

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oils, coffee, tea, wood pulp, yarn, granite stone, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the main
molasses, etc. Karnataka is the major hinterland for this port.
hinterland for this port. Chennai Port is one of the oldest ports on
Kochchi Port, situated at the head of the eastern coast. It is an artificial harbour built
Vembanad Kayal, popularly known as the in 1859. It is not much suitable for large ships
‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’, is also a natural because of the shallow waters near the coast.
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are its hinterland.
harbour. This port has an advantageous
Ennore, a newly developed port in Tamil
location being close to the Suez-Colombo route.
Nadu, has been constructed 25 km north of
It caters to the needs of Kerala, southern-
Chennai to relieve the pressure at Chennai port.
Karnataka and south western Tamil Nadu.
Tuticorin Port was also developed to
Kolkata Port is located on the Hugli river, relieve the pressure of Chennai port. It deals
128 km inland from the Bay of Bengal. Like the with a variety of cargo, including coal, salt, food
Mumbai port, this port was also developed by grains, edible oils, sugar, chemicals and
the British. Kolkata had the initial advantage petroleum products.
of being the capital of British India. The port
has lost its significance considerably on account Airports
of the diversion of exports to the other ports Air transport plays an important role in the
such as Vishakhapatnam, Paradwip and its international trade. It has the advantage of
satellite port, Haldia. taking the least time for carriage and handling
Kolkata port is also confronted with the high value or perishable goods over long
problem of silt accumulation in the Hugli river distances. It is very costly and unsuitable for
which provides a link to the sea. Its hinterland carrying heavy and bulky commodities. This
covers U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, ultimately reduces the participation of this
Sikkim and the north-eastern states. Apart from sector in the international trade as compared
this, it also extends ports facilities to our to the oceanic routes.
neighbouring land-locked countries such as There were 25 major airports functioning
Nepal and Bhutan. in the country (Annual Report 2016-17). They
Haldia Port is located 105 km are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi,
Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai,
downstream from Kolkata. It has been
Thiruvananthapuram, Srinagar, Jaipur, Calicut,
constructed to reduce the congestion at Kolkata
Nagpur, Coimbatore, Cochin, Lucknow, Pune,
port. It handles bulk cargo like iron ore, coal,
Chandigarh, Mangaluru, Vishakhapatnam,
petroleum, petroleum products and fertilisers, Indore, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Kannur.
jute, jute products, cotton and cotton yarn, etc. You have already studied about the air
P a r a d w i p P o r t is situated in the transport in the previous chapter. You consult
Mahanadi delta, about 100 km from Cuttack. the chapter on transport to find out the main
It has the deepest harbour specially suited features of air transport in India.
to handle very large vessels. It has been
developed mainly to handle large-scale export
of iron-ore. Odisha, Chhattisgarh and
Jharkhand are the parts of its hinterland. Name the nearest domestic and international
Visakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh airports from your place. Identify the state with
is a land-locked harbour, connected to the sea maximum number of domestic airports.
by a channel cut through solid rock and sand.
An outer harbour has been developed for Identify four cities where maximum number of air
handling iron-ore, petroleum and general cargo. routes converge and also give reasons for this.

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Fig. 8.5 : India – Air Routes

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 EXERCISES

1. Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) Trade between two countries is termed as
(a) Internal trade (c) International trade
(b) External trade (d) Local trade
(ii) Which one of the following is a land locked harbour?
(a) Vishakhapatnam (c) Ennor
(b) Mumbai (d) Haldia
(iii) Most of India’s foreign trade is carried through
(a) Land and sea (c) Sea and air
(b) Land and air (d) Sea
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Mention the characteristics of India’s foreign trade.
(ii) Distinguish between port and harbour.
(iii) Explain the meaning of hinterland.
(iv) Name important items which India imports from different countries.
(v) Name the ports of India located on the east coast.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Describe the composition of export and import trade of India.
(ii) Write a note on the changing nature of the international trade of India.

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