INDIA'S EXPORTS SOAR 17.8% YOY IN ELECTRONICS, PHARMA, ENGINEERING GOODS

Australia may well have walked away with the cricket World Cup, but New Delhi and Canberra are game on another turf -- the India, Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) -- which post a year of coming into force on 29 December 2022, shows India on a strong wicket vis a vis its exports to Australia which jumped 17.8 per cent year-on-year-- along preferential lines to USD 1.58 billion in April-October 2023.

- NIVEDITA MUKHERJEE

Under preferential lines, trading partners give preferential access, primarily through duty cuts, to each other’s markets as part of the mutually signed agreements. According to the Commerce Ministry data released on Friday, India’s overall merchandise exports to Australia have grown by 14 per cent yoy in April-November 2023. At the same time, India’s exports to the world fell by 1.39 per cent. Imports from Australia in April-November 2023 have come down to the extent of 19 per cent. The trade balance has come down significantly by 39 per cent from the once-normal range of USD 9-10 billion to USD 5 billion.

Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Commerce Ministry attributed the performance to this free trade agreement that was done on comparative advantages with industry leveraging it.

“There are early shoot signs on export growth in the areas where there were preferential tariffs,” says Agrawal.