Trade turnover between Vietnam and India reached nearly 937 million USD in the first quarter of this year, an annual decline of 7.25 percent, reported the Vietnam Overseas Trade Office in India.

It affirmed that despite the decline, India remained one of the country's 10 biggest trade partners.

Thanks to a free trade agreement signed more than two years ago, commerce between the two countries has developed significantly, the office added.

In the first quarter, Vietnam 's total export turnover hit 336.2 million USD, up 11.3 percent over the same period last year.

Key exports to India achieved high growth.

In particular, the export value of machinery increased by more than 188 percent while that of computers and electronics upped by 38.3 percent.

Rubber exports reached the highest growth rate at more than 300 percent.

During the first three months, India imported 100,000 tonnes of rubber to produce car tyres for domestic and international sale, the office explained.

Other exports enjoying growth were seafood (more than 95 percent) and footwear (51.7 percent).

Products that experienced a downturn in trade included steel and iron (80.7 percent) as well as pepper (90 percent).

According to the Vietnamese overseas trade office, local products such as rubber, electronics and garments have proved popular in India . The office added that India also has a high demand for Vietnamese agricultural products like pepper, tea, cashews and coffee.

In terms of imports, Vietnam spent only 600 million USD, a year-on-year slump of 15.2 percent, which downed the trade deficit by 39.3 percent.

Imports mostly centred on products serving domestic production such as cotton, accessories, machinery and material for the garment industry.

To date, trade turnover between the two sides has grown, hitting 1 billion USD in 2006, which increased to 2.8 billion USD in 2010. The two countries target to boost the figure to 7 billion USD by 2015.-VNA