India and Australia in agribusiness trade push after spats with China
The Australia India Business Council has begun a push to boost agricultural trade between the two countries, weeks after each has major confrontations with China.
INDIA and Australia are speeding up their agribusiness opportunities after both countries have had major spats with China.
The Australia India Business Council has launched an agribusiness arm to advance trade, research and development opportunities in agriculture and related industries between the two countries in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
But a forum last week heard there were still many trade barriers to be overcome.
AIBC chairman Jim Varghese said COVID-19 had paradoxically created some opportunities for Australia to move away from agricultural trade with China, especially after recent trade disputes such as the barley crisis with the Chinese Government.
Mr Varghese said there were opportunities for Australia in supplying India with agricultural produce, food products, machinery and water harvesting management.
Indian consul general Manish Gupta said food wastage was such a huge problem in India, his country was seeking investment in supply chain infrastructure and storage and logistics management.
AIBC agribusiness chapter chairman Con Livissianis told the forum “India was too big to ignore”.
Mr Livissianis said India would become the third largest economy in the world by 2035 when its population would top 1.6 billion people, a rise of 300 million from today’s level.
He said, within five years, a third of the world’s working age population would be in India.
“By 2030, 51 per cent of Indian workers would be middle class, up from 24 per cent in 2018,” he said.
Launching the AIBC agribusiness chapter Australian Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said there was no way Australia could fulfil all of India’s needs, the market was so big.
Mr Littleproud said a free-trade agreement with India could be achieved “with pragmatism and open dialogue”.
He said there was a significant emerging market for exports of Australian malting barley for beer and wool processing opportunities in India.
“Now is the time to move forward with much pace.” he said.
But Grain Industry Market Access Forum executive manager Tony Russell said Indian trade barriers, such as tariffs on chick peas, lentils and field peas, “didn’t give much certainty for Australian farmers to plan ahead”.
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