New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) Apex exporters' body FIEO is taking a 50-member business delegation from the agri and food processing sector to Moscow and St. Petersburg to explore more trade opportunities as the Russian market holds a huge potential.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said that the four-day visit to the sanction-hit country will begin from April 24.

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"We are pinning hopes to push our exports to Russia as it is a major market. The business delegation will explore export opportunities as that country holds huge potential," Sahai said.

During the visit, FIEO will sign an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with Russian business chambers for bilateral exchange of information and delegation on a regular basis.

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"We are aiming to take our exports to Russia to USD 5 billion this fiscal," FIEO President A Sakthivel said.

Last year, the commerce ministry had shared with exporters a list of hundreds of goods such as auto parts and textile that Russia has provided to India for imports.

Russian buyers have enquired about a wide range of products from India.

Russia has become a major oil supplier to India. India's appetite for Russian oil swelled ever since it started trading on discount as the West shunned it to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Exports to Russia stood at USD 2.8 billion during April-February 2022-23, while imports aggregated at USD 41.6 billion during the same period.

Sakthivel said that to establish business tie-ups with the Russian companies, including large departmental stores in the agro and food processed sector, the organisation is mounting a delegation of 50 exporters to Russia.

The delegation has a large number of meetings already tied up in Moscow and St. Petersburg with Russian importers and companies.

"The Indian embassy in Russia is providing all support to the delegation. The visit is a step forward on business queries received from Russia in a wide range of food sectors, including tea, coffee, marine products, ready-to-eat food etc," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)