NEW DELHI: Russia is looking to scale up imports of services, exotic fruits, pharmaceuticals and electronics from India to minimise the growing trade imbalance between the two countries and achieve the target of $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030, said Vladimir Padalko, Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce.
In an interaction with this newspaper on the sidelines of the BRICS Business Forumon Friday, Padalko said Moscow is looking to diversify its imports, with India likely to be an important source, particularly in sectors such as pharma, electronics and agricultural products, where Indian companies have significant export capabilities.
“Electronics, of course, and pharma. We are also very, very interested in increasing agricultural goods,” Padalko said, adding that Russia’s geographical location and climatic conditions create an opportunity for larger imports of exotic fruits from India. “We are interested in increasing, first of all, exotic fruits, for example grapes and so on,” he said.
However, improving logistics would be critical to expanding trade in perishable agricultural products and other sectors, Padalko said.