Regional export playbook

China in South Asia
where to look next

Compare buyer markets, access conditions, and product opportunities across South Asia. Use this guide to prioritize research, not to treat calculated indicators as guaranteed sales.

CHN4 markets2024 trade year
3-year opportunity$231.0BCalculated addressable value
Buyer markets4Markets with qualifying rows
FTA markets1Reported access indicator
Avg. distance3,466 kmAverage reported distance
Avg. entry days19Business entry indicator

South Asia regional view

Should China focus here?

The answer depends on demand, product fit, access, competition, and route economics. This playbook shows where the available trade signals are strongest.

Largest market shown

India

$195.1B calculated opportunity across 32 screened products.

Regional footprint

4 buyer markets

Reported trade and access indicators are available for the qualifying markets shown below.

How to use the guide

Compare demand with access

Start with the strongest markets, then validate buyers, tariffs, standards, logistics, and competition at product level.

Market comparison

Which markets deserve a closer look?

Markets are ranked by calculated three-year opportunity across the qualifying products in this regional view.

MarketOpportunityProductsFTADistanceEntry daysTop product
IndiaIND$195.1B32Not reported3,785 km18Oils: petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude
PakistanPAK$22.6B6Reported3,883 km17Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons: liquefied, natural gas
BangladeshBGD$11.4B6Not reported3,036 km20Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons: liquefied, natural gas
NepalNPL$1.9B1Not reported3,161 km23Product not reported

Top regional opportunities

Products and markets to review

The rows below are screened by reported buyer demand, exporter position, and available history. Calculated opportunity is a research signal, not a forecast.

RankMarketProductOpportunityBuyer growthCurrent share
1IndiaINDHS 270900Oils: petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude$72.9B+13.8%+0.0%
2IndiaINDHS 710812Metals: gold, non-monetary, unwrought (but not powder)$33.3B+21.1%+0.5%
3IndiaINDHS 270112Coal: bituminous, whether or not pulverised, but not agglomerated$12.0B+12.2%+0.1%
4IndiaINDHS 270119Coal: (other than anthracite and bituminous), whether or not pulverised but not agglomerated$11.6B+19.2%+0.0%
5IndiaINDHS 710231Diamonds: non-industrial, unworked or simply sawn, cleaved or bruted, but not mounted or set$7.8B+9.1%+0.4%
6PakistanPAKHS 271111Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons: liquefied, natural gas$6.4B+46.6%+0.0%
7PakistanPAKHS 270900Oils: petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude$5.9B+53.8%+0.0%
8IndiaINDHS 151110Vegetable oils: palm oil and its fractions, crude, not chemically modified$4.5B+23.0%+0.5%
9IndiaINDHS 710239Diamonds: non-industrial, (other than unworked or simply sawn, cleaved or bruted), but not mounted or set$4.5B+15.2%+0.1%
10PakistanPAKHS 271012Product description unavailable$4.3B+21.1%+0.7%
11IndiaINDHS 150710Vegetable oils: soya-bean oil and its fractions, crude, whether or not degummed, not chemically modified$4.3B+17.0%+0.0%
12IndiaINDHS 271112Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons: liquefied, propane$4.0B+24.3%+0.0%
13BangladeshBGDHS 271111Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons: liquefied, natural gas$3.8B+114.8%+0.6%
14IndiaINDHS 880240Aeroplanes and other aircraft: of an unladen weight exceeding 15,000kg$3.6B+17.0%+0.0%
15PakistanPAKHS 151190Vegetable oils: palm oil and its fractions, other than crude, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified$3.0B+5.5%+0.0%
16IndiaINDHS 151211Vegetable oils: sunflower seed or safflower oil and their fractions, crude, not chemically modified$2.6B+15.6%+3.8%
17IndiaINDHS 260300Copper ores and concentrates$2.5B+26.0%+0.0%
18IndiaINDHS 271113Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons: liquefied, butanes$2.5B+14.4%+0.0%
19IndiaINDHS 740311Copper: refined, unwrought, cathodes and sections of cathodes$2.3B+9.4%+0.0%
20BangladeshBGDHS 841191Turbines: parts of turbo-jets and turbo-propellers$2.1B+22.2%+0.0%

Sector opportunities

Which product families lead?

HS2 groups make it easier to compare broad product families before moving to individual HS6 products.

HS2 27

HS2 sector 27

11 screened products with $182.2B of reported buyer imports.

$123.4BCalculated opportunity · +35.1% average growth

HS2 71

HS2 sector 71

8 screened products with $80.7B of reported buyer imports.

$54.0BCalculated opportunity · +18.6% average growth

HS2 15

HS2 sector 15

6 screened products with $18.8B of reported buyer imports.

$17.6BCalculated opportunity · +14.1% average growth

HS2 00

HS2 sector 00

4 screened products with $14.4B of reported buyer imports.

$9.9BCalculated opportunity · +13.1% average growth

HS2 74

HS2 sector 74

3 screened products with $4.6B of reported buyer imports.

$4.6BCalculated opportunity · +15.6% average growth

HS2 84

HS2 sector 84

2 screened products with $3.6B of reported buyer imports.

$3.8BCalculated opportunity · +17.7% average growth

HS2 88

HS2 sector 88

1 screened products with $10.4B of reported buyer imports.

$3.6BCalculated opportunity · +17.0% average growth

HS2 26

HS2 sector 26

2 screened products with $4.6B of reported buyer imports.

$3.6BCalculated opportunity · +26.4% average growth

Frequently asked questions

Using the South Asia export playbook

Practical guidance for interpreting regional market and product comparisons.

Should China focus on this region?

Use the market ranking as a starting point, then check product fit, buyer requirements, route costs, tariffs, standards, and competitive conditions.

What does calculated opportunity mean?

It is a screening indicator built from demand and exporter-position signals. It is not a confirmed order, sales forecast, or guarantee of market entry.

How should exporters use this page?

Prioritize one market and product combination, then validate buyers, compliance, logistics, pricing, and continuity before making a commercial decision.

Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-30). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.