The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement has helped in gaining market access for products which were not traded between the two countries earlier and boosted two-way shipments, a senior official said on Friday.
From April to November of 2023, India’s exports to Australia reached US $ 5.87 billion, a 14 per cent increase from the previous year. This is noteworthy because throughout this time, India’s total exports decreased. One of the main beneficiaries of the agreement, which went into force on December 29, 2022, is the textile industry.
“We are doing better with Australia than the world,” Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, told reporters.
In the first half of the current fiscal year, India’s exports to Australia via preferential lines increased by 17.8 per cent, while the country’s exports under non-preferential lines grew by 15.14 per cent year over year.
Analysing India’s year-on-year trade growth with Australia’s in April-October 2023, Tapan Mazumder, additional director general of foreign trade, said preferential zero duty access has opened up the Australian market for new lines of exports.
Cotton clothing other than kurtas and salwars (US $ 5.12 million) and skirts and dresses made of materials other than silk (US $ 7.15 million) are a few exports with significant growth potential.
Over 85 per cent of Australian products exports by value to India became duty-free on day one, even though the agreement with Australia freed up roughly 96 per cent of tariff lines for Indian imports. The Australian government website states that more products will eventually come under this heading. By 1st January 2026, 90 per cent of goods will be duty-free in Australia, and 100 per cent of imports from India would be duty-free as well.
