India and South Africa Trade Hits $1 Billion

Annual bilateral trade between India and South Africa has gone from zero to $1 billion since 1994, Ajay Swarup, India's consul general to South Africa, said yesterday (Monday) at a meeting of businessmen from the two countries.

The balance of trade between the countries is fairly evenly balanced, excluding gold and diamond purchases at international auctions, which added a further $1.5 billion a year to the trade statistics, Swarup said.

The meeting was part of an effort to promote interaction between the two business communities, which not only exchange trade but also have begun investing in each other’s countries.