CEBU CITY – Some 30 members of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), currently in a trade mission to India are optimistic their trip will enhance awareness amongst Indian importers of locally-made products and yield trade opportunities between both markets.

Before departing for India, CCCI-India Business Council Chairperson Mila C. Espina said the group’s seven-day trip to New Delhi and Agra, which ends this September 26, will allow local businessmen while in India to meet with their Indian counterparts as they go on business tours and business-matching sessions aimed at exploring opportunities and partnerships, particularly in priority areas like educational exchanges in information technology and outsourcing.

“We see India as a big global market in the next few years and that’s why the Chamber is positioning itself to benefit from this business exchange and vice versa,” Espina said.

For his part, Philippine Ambassador to India Francisco Benedicto said the visit for the Cebuano group is timely as the Philippines and India celebrates 60 years of relations.

He said this long relationship has spurred growth of arrivals from India to Cebu, and increased awareness of India in the local market.

“The uptrend will be sustained with the growing interest in the growth of India, the 12th largest economy in the world with an average of 7.5 percent economic growth annually,” he said, citing official data.

India’s major industries include textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, engineering and transport equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, and software.

The country’s major agricultural products are rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, poultry and fish.

Its major exports include gems and jewelry, leather and software, while parts of its imports are comprised of crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizers, and chemicals.

Earlier, in a related interview, Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Rajeet Mitter made particular mention about the huge potentials in Cebu’s furniture exports penetrating into the Indian market, whose buyers are mostly into high-end products.

Mitter said furniture and fashion accessories from the Philippines, particularly Cebu, have been getting a reputation among Indian buyers as having “delicate craftsmanship and high aesthetic appeal.” (Malou Mozo)

India's most popular form of furniture pieces are bedroom furniture, office, kitchen, garden, and contract furniture in wood, metal, plastic, cane, and bamboo.

Apart from furniture exports and IT, Mitter said Cebu and India could likewise forge a stronger trade partnership in other industries, like mining, pharmaceutical, engineering consultancy, construction works, among others.