New Delhi: India’s exports to its trade agreement partner Australia rose 64.4 per cent year-on-year to $643.7 million in November on account of healthy growth in sectors such as textiles, chemicals and agricultural products. However, the country's merchandise exports recorded a decline of 5.21 per cent year-on-year to $5.56 billion during April-November 2024-25, according to the commerce ministry data.
India and Australia implemented an interim trade pact — Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) — on December 29, 2022 and are now in negotiations to widen the scope of the pact and make it a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). On the completion of two years of ECTA, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said the agreement has brought with it increased market access for Indian exporters, expanded opportunities for MSMEs and farmers, and generated several employment avenues.
On a social media platform X, Goyal also said that it has also enabled growth in exports by 14 per cent in 2023-24; notable boost in IT/ITeS, business and travel services; and port-study work and work holiday visas. “The expanding trade and investment ties between the two countries under the agreement reflect the growing business-to-business and people-to-people engagements. We are committed to building on the momentum that the Ind-Aus ECTA has generated and achieve the 100 billion Australian dollar trade target by 2030,” Goyal said.
In a statement, the commerce ministry also said the key sectors like textiles, chemicals, and agriculture have shown substantial growth, while exports on new lines, including gold studded with diamonds and turbojets highlight the diversification enabled by the agreement. “Imports of essential raw materials, such as metalliferous ores, cotton, wood and wood products have fuelled India's industries,” it said, adding that sectors such as electronics and engineering have room for growth.
As per the latest data, the bilateral merchandise trade has more than doubled, surging from $12.2 billion in 2020-21 to $26 billion in 2022-23. The total trade, however, moderated in 2023-24 to $24 billion in 2023-24. “The current fiscal year continues to reflect strong momentum. Total merchandise bilateral trade from April-November 2024 reached $16.3 billion,” the ministry said.
