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According to Capexil, export of chemical-based and allied products to Iraq has recorded a nearly seven-fold increase for the period 1988-89 to 2000-01. And after introduction of the "oil for food programme", trade with Iraq has started picking up gradually, particularly in respect of items needed for humanitarian and civil use.

KOLKATA, May 27

FOLLOWING its participation for the second consecutive year at the Baghdad International Fair in November last, Capexil has indicated large business prospects for many of its products in Iraq, forming broadly the two categories of minerals and ores and non-minerals, besides chemical-based products. Export of products falling under the council's ambit to Iraq has been estimated to be around Rs 25 crore during 2000-01, and is expected to increase in a big way this year.

According to the council, export of chemical-based and allied products to Iraq has recorded a nearly seven-fold increase for the period 1988-89 to 2000-01, despite the fact that trade with Iraq was somewhat different from that with rest of the world because of sanctions imposed by the UN since 1991. It has pointed out that after introduction of the "oil for food programme", trade with Iraq has started picking up gradually, particularly in respect of items needed for humanitarian and civil use.

According to Mr J.K. Bagchi, Joint Director, Capexil, major industrial enterprises from different parts of the globe had displayed a wide range of items needed for consumer, industrial and oil industry uses including motorcars, light and heavy motor vehicles etc. Among the major participants were countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Egypt and the Russian Federation.

Dwelling on the prospects for Indian exporters in Iraq, Mr Bagchi said once the UN sanctions are lifted, large-scale business might resume and Indian exporters might face tough competition. Once regular construction activities began, there would be fairly good demand for construction materials such as cement, sanitaryware, glazed tiles, plywood items, sawn timber etc.

He, however, cautioned that though auto tyres had sizeable demand in Iraq, Indian exporters might find it difficult to compete with China in the segment.

Buses for public transport purposes imported from China were in use in Iraq, and Chinese suppliers had an edge over others, particularly in respect of spare parts for the heavy vehicles. Auto tyres were now imported into Iraq through a tendering process by the government enterprises.

Sizeable demand existed for rubber products like fire fighting hoses, cycle tyres, Vee-belts, industrial moulded rubber goods etc. Turkey and Syria were said to be major suppliers of rubber products to Iraq because of their proximity and price competitiveness.

A major snag, according to the council, was that the Iraqi state enterprises/government departments generally gave little time for submission of tender documents. From the date of opening of tender to their closing, the available time was around 7-10 days, and only registered parties were allowed to participate in the tenders.

The council also saw big scope for export of books and publications, including texts and educational books on subjects such as computer science, medical science, engineering, college and university level science books etc. In the Iraqi markets, Indian books were not available, since there had been no links with buyers for the last 10-12 years. According to Mr Bagchi, attempts were now on to promote sale of Indian books. There was no import duty on books in Iraq.

He said at present, Iraqi universities were buying locally through Egyptian and Libyan publishers during the book fair, which was organised every year in Baghdad by the National Company for Publishers, under the Iraqi Ministry of Information. Unesco had a division, which dealt with book publishing in Iraq, and the books were mainly imported from the UK.

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