Amadeo Scrapa, Italian Trade Commissioner to India has recently showed his confidence that the trade with India would double to 15 billion euro by 2015 in view of rising trade between two countries.
“I think trade target will be achievable because the economic cycle of crisis is going to end after almost five years of international crisis which passes through Europe that effected our consumption and production there has been a slowdown but not on a very small scale,” Scarpa told The Pioneer.
“There is high rate of private savings in Italy, so the banks didn’t experience any problem of liquidity like English bank had,” he added.
“Also, we expect there will be more exports from India to Italy as your economy is expected to grow at over 6 per cent this fiscal,” he said.
In 2012, the bilateral trade between India and Italy was 7.2 billion euro.
Indian exports to Italy include textiles, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals and coffee. The imports comprise machinery and capitals goods, non-electrical equipment, engineering items, metallurgical products and chemical and pharmaceutical items.
“Yes, we have received some request and I am sure that in couple of years you will see in Delhi most, not only in mono brand but also in multi brand Italian retail outlets,” he replied when asked if Italian companies have expressed interest in investing in single brand retail.
He, however, refused to divulge the name of the companies and said “There is an important brand in food and in furniture.”
Recently, Government cleared Swedish home furnishing major IKEA’s `10,500-crore investment proposal, the biggest investment in single-brand retail sector after the Government liberalised policy in November 2011.
IKEA, which has already been sourcing products from India over the last 25 years, initially plans to set up 10 furnishing and homeware stores over a period of ten years In January 2012, India raised the FDI cap in single-brand retail to 100 per cent from 51 per cent.