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Hamburg: India is Stepping Out of the Shadows

06/11/2023

The Hamburg Senate acknowledges the necessity of diversifying trade relations for Hamburg. While Asia continues to serve as a crucial growth region for Hamburg-based companies, the focus is now extending beyond China. India is emerging as a complementary production hub, rising to the eighth place among the Port of Hamburg’s top ten trading partners. The Indian government’s production-driven incentives in key sectors like auto parts, textiles and machinery, underscore the country’s significant production potential across these industries. Hamburg-based companies find India's prowess in the IT and technology sector particularly appealing, as they also identify potential collaboration opportunities in the renewable energy sector. Notwithstanding certain challenges such as complex regulatory requirements, high logistics costs, and inadequate transport infrastructure in India, current trends suggest that India is well-positioned to surpass China, particularly in the realms of service trade and research and development. The commitment of both partners to address these challenges and deepen their alliance further strengthens this outlook.

The Hamburg Representation Mumbai office has observed a significant surge in interest in sourcing from India over the past few months. Already, 55 Hamburg companies, including Hapag-Lloyd and Lufthansa Technik, have established a presence in India, with more companies establishing research and development centres in the region. The impending EU-India free trade agreement, expected by year-end, stands as a potential catalyst. To further foster collaboration, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and its partners plan to host a delegation from the IT association NASSCOM during India Week Hamburg in November.

Click here to read the full article in the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce’s magazine, "Hamburger Wirtschaft”.