WHEN I lived in Delhi I would make an occasional pilgrimage to the city’s fascinating INA market. The initials stand for Indian National Army, but that’s no clue to what’s inside. The market is famous for catering to the culinary cravings of homesick expatriates and rootless cosmopolitans. The moment I arrived, I would be shadowed by a helpful man carrying a wicker basket, which I would quickly fill with bok choy, lemongrass and other alien ingredients on offer from the maze of stalls.

The green-tea soba noodles and miso paste I bought there represent two small contributions to the $6.7 billion of goods that India imported from Japan in the fiscal year ending March 31st 2010. That figure should grow thanks to the trade-and-investment deal the two countries signed on February 16th. Anand Sharma, India’s commerce minister, says that imports and exports combined might reach $25 billion by 2014.

Let’s hope so. INA market aside, trade between Asia’s second- and third-biggest economies is a disappointment. India accounts for only 1.2% of Japan’s exports and 0.8% of its imports, according to the country’s Ministry of Finance. Japan sells more to Mexico and buys more from Vietnam. As Geethanjali Nataraj of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) points out, India’s exports to Japan are confined mostly to minerals (such as iron ore), agricultural products, pearls, precious stones and imitation jewellery. Japan is also the biggest importer of Indian shrimp.

What else does India have that Japan might want? Delhi’s INA market provides a hint. Alongside the expatriates, the market attracts Delhi’s Malayalam-speaking population from the southern state of Kerala, who are fond of the flaky, layered Malabar parathas kneaded, tossed and fried at the market’s food-stalls. The INA market is also where they buy their nurses' uniforms before travelling to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf, which rely on Indian migrants, many of them from Kerala, to do a lot of the work.

India has lots of labour to export. Its workforce may swell by 110m people by 2020, according to a projection by Goldman Sachs. Japan’s labour force will shrink by 3.5m over the same period, according to the ILO. Here surely there is an opportunity for mutually beneficial exchange.

The India-Japan trade deal makes a nod in this direction by placing an unusual emphasis on services. The agreement will allow Indian accountants, engineers and management consultants to ply their trade in Japan. It also opens the door to Indian dancers, tabla players and yoga teachers to pass on their art to Japanese students. Nurses, too, may join them after the two countries conclude a “social-security” agreement over the next three years. When that happens, I’m sure the INA shopkeepers will be quick to offer Japanese-style scrubs alongside the cold-rinse noodles.