India's exports to its trade agreement partner Australia rose 64.4 percent year-on-year to USD 643.7 million in November on account of healthy growth in sectors such as textiles, chemicals, and agricultural products, according to the commerce ministry data.
However, the country's merchandise exports recorded a decline of 5.21 percent year-on-year to USD 5.56 billion during April-November 2024-25, the preliminary data showed.
India and Australia implemented an interim trade pact—the 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.
It has also enabled growth in exports by 14 percent in 2023-24; a notable boost in IT/ITeS, business and travel services; and port-study work and work holiday visas, he said in a port on the social media platform X.
"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 achieving the USD 100 billion trade target by 2030," Goyal said.
In a statement, the commerce ministry 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.
Since its signing, bilateral merchandise trade has more than doubled, surging from USD 12.2 billion in 2020-21 to USD 26 billion in 2022-23.
The total trade, however, moderated in 2023-24 to USD 24 billion in 2023-24. "The current fiscal year continues to reflect strong momentum. Total merchandise bilateral trade from April-November 2024 reached USD 16.3 billion," the ministry said.
The exchange of preferential import data has commenced between both countries, highlighting the effective implementation of the agreement in 2023. The data reveals export and import utilisation at 79 percent and 84 percent, respectively.
So far, ten rounds of inter-sessional discussions have been held for the proposed CECA.
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