India’s exports to Australia registered a healthy 14% growth in the April to November period of the ongoing fiscal year, touching $5.8 billion, according to data shared by the Department of Commerce.
This robust export growth has been attributed to the interim free trade agreement between the two countries which came into effect on December 29, 2022. Several key sectors like engineering, pharmaceuticals, electronics, spices, textiles and plastics saw increased outbound shipments.
Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, Rajesh Agrawal said that businesses in both India and Australia are starting to benefit from the trade deal. He added that negotiations are underway to expand the current interim pact into a more comprehensive economic cooperation agreement.
At the same time, India’s imports from Australia fell 19% to $11.14 billion during April-November 2022. As a result, the overall bilateral trade declined 10% to $17 billion. Australia mainly ships gold, pulses, metals, wood products and machine tools to India.
The trade agreement has provided customs duty concessions to some Indian export products including gold jewellery studded with diamonds, oil pipes, cotton garments and artificial fibre dresses. Exports of these items logged strong double-digit growth.
However, shipments of gems & jewellery and handicrafts from India recorded negative growth in this period. The surge in gold imports from Australia has been significant as it rose nearly 4 times to $1.56 billion.
Experts feel the interim free trade pact will open up opportunities for India to source critical minerals and items related to energy transition from resource-rich Australia. Both nations aim to build a broader, mutually beneficial economic partnership.
