International Trade

Class 12 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.

India’s Exports

The composition of commodities in India’s international trade has been undergoing a change over the years. In export the share of agriculture and allied products and manufactured goods have decreased, whereas, share from crude petroleum and products and other commodities have increased.

The decline in traditional items is largely due to the tough international competition. Amongst the agriculture products, there is a decline in the export of traditional item, such as cashew, etc., though an increase has been registered in floricultural products, fresh fruits, marine products and sugar, etc.

India’s Import

India faced serious food shortage during 1950s and 1960s. The major item of import at that time was foodgrain, capital goods, machinery and equipment. The balance of payment was adverse as imports were more than export in spite of all the efforts of import substitution.

After 1970s, foodgrain import was discontinued due to the success of Green revolution but the energy crisis of 1973 pushed the prices of petroleum, and import 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 basket.

Direction of Trade

India has trade relations with most of the countries and major trading blocks of the world. India aims to double its share in the international trade within the next five years. It has already started adopting suitable measures such as import liberalisation, reduction in import duties, delicensing and change from process to product patents.

Most of India’s foreign trade is carried through sea and air routes. However, a small portion is also carried through land route to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Sea Ports

India is surrounded by sea from three sides and is bestowed with a long coastline. Water provides a smooth surface for very cheap transport provided there is no turbulence.

At present, India has 12 major ports and 200 minor or intermediate ports. In case of the major ports, the central government decides the policy and plays regulatory functions. The minor ports are there whose policy and functions are regulated by state governments. The major ports handle larger share of the total traffic.

Deendayal Port (Kandla port) situated at the head of Gulf of Kuchchh has been developed as a major port to cater to the needs of western and north western parts of the country and also to reduce the pressure at Mumbai port. The port is specially designed to receive large quantities of petroleum and petroleum products and fertiliser. The offshore terminal at Vadinar has been developed to reduce the pressure at the port.

Mumbai is a natural harbour and the biggest port of the country. The port is situated closer to the general routes from the countries of Middle East, Mediterranean countries, North Africa, North America and Europe where the major share of country’s overseas trade is carried out. The port is 20 km long and 6-10 km wide with 54 berths and has the country’s largest oil terminal. M.P., Maharashtra, Gujarat, U.P. and parts of Rajasthan constitute the main hinterlands of Mumbai ports.

Marmagao Port, situated at the entrance of the Zuari estuary, is a natural harbour in Goa. It gained significance after its remodelling in 1961 to handle iron-ore exports to Japan. Construction of Konkan railway has considerably extended the hinterland of this port. Karnataka, Goa, Southern Maharashtra constitute its hinterland.

New Mangalore Port is located in the state of Karnataka and caters to the needs of the export of iron-ore and iron-concentrates. It also handles fertilisers, petroleum products, edible oils, coffee, tea, wood pulp, yarn, granite stone, molasses, etc. Karnataka is the major hinterland for this port.

Kochchi Port, situated at the head of Vembanad Kayal, popularly known as the ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’, is also a natural harbour. This port has an advantageous location being close to the Suez-Colombo route. It caters to the needs of Kerala, southern-Karnataka and south western Tamil Nadu.

Kolkata Port is located on the Hugli river, 128 km inland from the Bay of Bengal. Like the Mumbai port, this port was also developed by the British. Kolkata had the initial advantage of being the capital of British India. The port has lost its significance considerably on account of the diversion of exports to the other ports such as Vishakhapatnam, Paradwip and its satellite port, Haldia.

Haldia Port is located 105 km downstream from Kolkata. It has been constructed to reduce the congestion at Kolkata port. It handles bulk cargo like iron ore, coal, petroleum, petroleum products and fertilisers, jute, jute products, cotton and cotton yarn, etc.

Paradwip Port is situated in the Mahanadi delta, about 100 km from Cuttack. It has the deepest harbour specially suited 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.

Visakhapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh is a land-locked harbour, connected to the sea by a channel cut through solid rock and sand. An outer harbour has been developed for handling iron-ore, petroleum and general cargo. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the main hinterland for this port.

Chennai Port is one of the oldest ports on the eastern coast. It is an artificial harbour built in 1859. It is not much suitable for large ships because of the shallow waters near the coast. Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are its hinterland.

Ennore, a newly developed port in Tamil Nadu, has been constructed 25 km north of Chennai to relieve the pressure at Chennai port.

Tuticorin Port was also developed to relieve the pressure of Chennai port. It deals with a variety of cargo, including coal, salt, food grains, edible oils, sugar, chemicals and petroleum products.

Airports

Air transport plays an important role in the international trade. It has the advantage of taking the least time for carriage and handling high value or perishable goods over long distances. It is very costly and unsuitable for carrying heavy and bulky commodities. This ultimately reduces the participation of this sector in the international trade as compared to the oceanic routes.