New Delhi, May 11: The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Sri Lanka has pushed up trade between the two neighbouring countries by almost four times.

“Total bilateral trade increased four times in the post-FTA period to $2.7 billion in 2006-07 from a mere $685 million in 2000-01,” said a study released by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The period for the implementation of the FTA for India was about three years, from 2000-03, while for Sri Lanka it was eight years, from 2000-08. Prior to the FTA, trade between India and Sri Lanka grew just 10 per cent per annum between 1993 and 1999.

However, the agreement accelerated the trade flow and it grew over 27 per cent in the post-FTA period, from 2000 to 2006. After the FTA, mineral fuel and iron and steel replaced vegetables and machinery in the list of top five export items to Sri Lanka.