How India-UK trade has grown over the years

The India-UK FTA was meant to be finalised by October 24 but political upheavel in the western country has been pushing this deadline

Prime Minister Liz Truss' abrupt resignation on Thursday has put another bottleneck in the already threatened India-UK free trade agreement.

While a government official said that negotiations for the proposed trade pact between India and the UK are moving in the right direction, and both sides are expected to reach an agreement soon, sources have told DH that even if former PM Boris Johnson or Rishi Sunak succeeded Truss, the end to the impasse in the negotiations for the deal is unlikely before the end of the year.

The trade deal was originally meant to be finalised by October 24, the day of Diwali.

According to data by research body Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), India's exports to the United Kingdom were valued at $7.75 billion in 2020. Main exports included packaged medicaments ($554 million), refined petroleum ($295 million), and jewellery ($215 million). Data shows that Indian exports to the UK increased at an annualised rate of 4.92 per cent from $2.33 billion in 1995 to $7.75 billion in 2020.

In 2020, United Kingdom's exports to India were valued at $4.63 billion. The main products exported were gold ($413 million), scrap iron ($223 million), and precious metal compounds ($203 million). According to OEC data, the UK's exports to India increased at an annualised rate of 2.57 per cent, from $2.45 billion in 1995 to $4.63 billion in 2020.

Here is how much India and the UK exported to each other between 2011 and 2020, according to data via the OEC and UN Comtrade.