Indian Merchandise Exports to Australia

India and Australia have a strong bilateral relationship which goes back to many decades and this has given Indian merchandise exports to Australia a major boost. The Australian Indian economic relationship has been growing steadily over the last few years and has increased from A$ 874 million in1994 to A$ 1519 million in 1999. In 2004- 2005 the bilateral trade in goods between the two countries reached A$ 7.3 billion, making India Australia's 12th largest merchandise trading partner.

The Australian Prime Minister Howard's visit to India in July, 2000 further developed the ties between the two countries with the signing of a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and a Trade and Economic Framework (TEF) between the two countries. This has also encouraged Indian merchandise exports to Australia. Joint commisions have also been set up such as the Indian- Australian Business Council and the Australia Business Council (AIBC). And these have promoted Indian merchandise exports to Australia. The major items in the Indian merchandise exports to Australia are as follows:

• textile, make up, and clothing
• leather, footwear, travel goods, and leather goods
• engineering goods and manufactures
• pearls, gems, and jewellery
• agricultural produce
• chemicals and its by products

The top five items which are exported by Indian merchandise exporters to Australia in the textile sector are men's clothing, women's clothing,made up articles, textile yarn, and floor coverings. This sector saw a decrease of A$ 20 million in the year 2001 and amounted to A$ 204.5 million. The Indian merchandise exporters to Australia in the leather, footwear, travel goods, and leather goods sector witnessed an increase of about 2% to A$ 55.9 million in 2001 from A$ 54.8 million in the previous year.

The Indian merchandise exports to Australia in the engineering goods and manufactures sector rose by 7% to stand at A$ 176.6 million in the year 2001. The pearls, gems, and jewellery sector of the Indian merchandise exports to Australia registered an increase of 19% from A$ 54.9 million in 2000 to A$ 65.3 million in 2001. The agricultural produce sector of the Indian merchandise exports to Australia saw a steep increase by 36.3% to A$ 87.5 million in 2001. The items included in this sector which were exported to Australia by India included spices, prawns, shrimps, fruits, and nuts.

The Indian merchandise exports to Australia in the chemicals and its by products sector increased by 26.8% to A$ 198.9 million in 2001 from A$ 156.9 million in the previous year. The chemicals exported to Australia by India included Petroleum oils, Carboxylic acids, Pharmaceutical products, and Organic and Inorganic compounds

Though Indian merchandise exports to Australia have made significant development in the recent past there is still room for improvement. And for this to take place the governments of both the countries should put in joint effort.