As all exports to Australia become zero-duty from the starting of the next year, exporters are hopeful about a pick-up in the number of exports but are worried about competitive pricing offered by Chinese companies in the major market.
“Many countries, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, have been enjoying duty-free access to Australia. But now with zero duty access to Indians, our advantage with regards to that is that there will be an increase in our market share, but it depends on how we are going to deliver, to service our customers,” Mecca Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, Farida Group told KNN India over phone.
Farida Group is one of the major footwear and finished leather producers and exporters. When asked about experience in the last three years ever since the signing of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA), he said his company has not been able to expand much. “We have not been able to penetrate much as the Chinese are now very strong competitors. They are in a position to give us a very cheap price. Many of the Chinese companies are also opening their units in Australia, in order to import and distribute. Some businesses are in a position to grow, but many are not yet,” he said.
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on December 30, made an announcement about the simplification of the Ind-Aus ECTA, indicating that the rates for all Australian tariffs would be_zero duty for Indian exports from January 1st, 2026. The Minister stated that the ECTA continues to be an important component of its It is now an advanced stage for India in negotiations with Australia for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to widen the ambit of trade relations between the two countries.
In a conversation with KNN on the issue of Indian exports becoming duty-free in Australia, Arun Kumar Garodia, Managing Director, Corona Steel Industry Pvt Ltd, stated that engineering goods exports to Australia are going well after the Indo-Australia ECTA deal.
“With duties being removed, Indian goods going to Australia will certainly have some advantage. Many companies as part of their China plus One strategy have been looking at India. It is tough to compete with Chinese across many items but with duty going away the scope of expanding our presence there certainly increases,” he said.
Garodia, former chairman of apex engineering exports promotion body EEPC India, said his company is planning to resume exports to Australia in the near future after halting it earlier. Bilateral merchandise trade between India and Australia stood at US$24.1 billion in the financial year 2024-25, up 8% over the previous year.
