Indias trade with SAARC India's trade with South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries in rupee

terms has grown by 75 percent during 2003-04 compared to the previous year, according to an analysis done by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI). PHDCCI President Ravi Wig, in a statement issue here a copy of which was received by IRNA on Wednesday, said: "It is a good turning point for India to consolidate the trade with SAARC countries and to take it to a higher orbit of growth. Care also has to be taken to encourage the other SAARC countries to increase their exports to India since some of the countries are very keen to enhance their market access to the expanding Indian market." Reflecting the growing thaw in Indo-Pak relations, India's trade with Pakistan has also grown by over 30 percent in 2003-04 compared to the previous year. India's exports to Pakistan has gone up by 32 percent whereas imports from that country into India increased by 22 percent in 2003-04. Wig said that if Pakistan accords MFN status to India, trade between the two countries has the potential of growing exponentially. . The PHDCCI analysis points out that in rupee terms India's trade with Bhutan recorded maximum growth during 2003-04 at over 700 percent, although from a low base. In absolute terms, India's exports to Bhutan has gone up from Rs 1,890 million in 2002-03 to Rs 3,991 million, registering a growth of 112 percent. However, India's imports from Bhutan have skyrocketed and have gone up from Rs 1,556 million in 2002-03 to Rs 24,065 million in 2003-04, an increase of over 1,400 percent as compared to the previous year. "Such an exponential growth in the imports from countries in SAARC is a positive indicator and bids well to evince the desired response from other member countries for taking SAFTA to its logical conclusion," Wig said. Bangladesh, India's largest trading partner in the SAARC region, accounted for 41 percent of the official exports from India to the whole of the SAARC region during 2003-04. However, Bangladesh's imports to India constitute hardly 5.6 percent of the imports of India from the whole of the SAARC region. Even Nepal accounts for more than 24 percent of India's imports from SAARC countries during 2003-04, whereas exports to Nepal constitute 16 percent of India's total exports to this region. India-Sri Lanka trade has grown by 42 percent during 2003-04 compared to the previous year with a total trade turnover of Rs 69,609 million. India's exports, in absolute figures, have grown to Rs 60,673 million, registering a growth of 36 percent in 2003-04. At the same time, Sri Lanka's exports to India have grown by 103 percent in 2003-04, a healthy growth compared to other countries in the region, indicates PHDCCI.