Representative image of exports.
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New Delhi: 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.
India’s exports to Australia rose to $5.87 billion in April-November 2023 period, up 14 per cent year-on-year. This is significant as India’s overall exports declined during this period.
Pharma, engineering goods, electronics and textiles are among the major gainers of the deal that came into effect from December 29, 2022. India’s engineering goods exports to Australia rose by 7 per cent during the April-October period of the current financial year. Overall exports of engineering goods during this period were lower when compared with the same period last year.
India’s drugs and pharmaceuticals exports to Australia surged by 22 per cent against 8 per cent increase overall. Electronics goods exports rose by 31 per cent, while for Australia this growth was 106 per cent.
“We are doing better with Australia than the world,” Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, told reporters.
India’s exports to Australia in preferential lines jumped by 17.8 per cent in the first seven months of the current financial year while in non-preferential lines category the year-on-year growth stood at 15.14 per cent.
“There are early signs of export growth in the areas where there are preferential tariffs,” Agrawal said.
He said the line items where exports are doing better with Australia would serve as a template for negotiating trade deals with other countries and regions like the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Agrawal said Australia has equally benefited from the deal but the numbers are negative due to low import of coal in India. India’s imports from Australia declined by 19 per cent year-on-year to $11.14 billion in April-November period.