SAARC Trade Intensity and India

Abstract

Intra-regional SAARC trade intensities have not picked up after the formation of SAARC. This obviously means that SAARC countries are looking outside the SAARC region for their trade. The lack of complementarities among the SAARC economies is reflected in the diminishing trends of the trade intensity indices. During the post-SAARC period (1986-98), intra-regional trade intensities relative to the rest of the world were high in case of Nepal, followed by Maldives, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. India was the only country, whose intra-regional export intensities have increased from the pre-SAARC period (1975-85) to the post-SAARC period. India's export intensities with individual SAARC countries were far more than its import intensities. oVerall India's trade intensities were high with Nepal, followed by Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives during the pre- SAARC as well as post-SAARC period.