India has overtaken China in exports growth rate recording an increase of 16.1 per cent in 2011, topping the list of all major trading countries in the world, says a WTO report.

"India had the fastest export growth among major traders in 2011, with shipments rising 16.1 per cent. Meanwhile, China had the second-fastest export growth of any major economy at 9.3 per cent," World Trade Report 2012 of WTO said.

In 2010, China topped the list with shipment growth rate of 28.4 per cent, while India recorded an increase of 22 per cent. According to experts, the Indian government's and exporters endeavour of diversification of export markets have benefitted the country's shipments.

"Mainly the diversification of markets to Middle East countries, South East Asia and China have yielded good results for Indian exports," Director of the country's prestigious Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) K T Chaco said.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Rafeeq Ahmed also said market and product diversification strategy have yielded positive results. After the economic slowdown in the India's  traditional export markets - the US and Europe, the government had extended incentives to exporters to explore new markets, including in regions like Latin America and Africa.

In 2011, world merchandise trade volume grew by 5 per cent, while "Asia s 6.6 per cent increase led all regions", the report said. Further, it said that in commercial services exports, the European Union tops the chart with USD 789 billion worth of shipments, 24.8 per cent of the world total.

It was followed by the US (USD 578 billion, 18.2 per cent), China (USD 182 billion, 5.7 per cent), India (USD 148 billion, 4.7 per cent) and Japan (USD 143 billion, 4.5 per cent). The EU, it said, also becomes the leading importer (USD 639 billion, 21.1 per cent of the world total), followed by the US (USD 391 billion, 12.9 per cent), China (USD 236 billion, 7.8 per cent), Japan (USD 165 billion, 5.4 per cent)
and India (USD 130 billion, 4.3 per cent).

However, the report has put India, Indonesia and Argentina among the main countries imposing maximum non-tariff measures. "The recent increase in restrictive measures is attributable to a number of developments, including stricter import controls and licensing requirements in some countries,
as well as import prohibitions imposed on some Japanese goods following the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011," it said.