In the first 6 months of Australia's Free Trade Agreement with India, Australian businesses have benefitted from lower tariffs on more than $12 billion worth in exports.
The trade agreement removed tariffs on over 85 per cent of Australia's exports to India, unlocking opportunities for businesses to grow and diversify across sectors including agriculture and food, resources and energy, health and higher education.
Australia's premium produce and wine producers taking advantage of tariff reductions and finding opportunities to cater to India's growing market of 1.4 billion consumers.
The trade benefits of this deal have encouraged new exporters to look to India, with our first-ever shipments of Australian salmon, fresh lobster and avocados into the Indian market.
Existing exporters are also growing and diversifying what they sell. As a result, more Australian lamb and sheep meat, condiments, fruits and nuts are showing up at India's high-end restaurants, hotels and retailers.
Premium Australian wine exporters, like Taylors, Metala and Torbreck Wines, are taking advantage of the large tariff reductions to secure a strong foothold in India's emerging wine market.
Our growing trade relationship is also unlocking opportunities to partner in the transition to net zero in our region.
Australian resources companies, like Western Australia's Iluka Resources, are using reduced tariffs to supply growing demand for critical minerals, such as zircon, mineral sands, that can help achieve India's goal to lower carbon emissions.
Lower tariffs on some medical product exports mean Australian innovations, such as Cochlear's hearing implants, are now more accessible than ever in the Indian market.
One-fifth of the world's working age population will be from India in 2025. Australia's education providers are finding opportunities to skill India's growing population.
With the trade agreement in force, Indian institutions are seeking new ways of engaging with Australia through recognition of Australian qualifications and blended, online and joint university degrees and programs.
During his visit to India in March, Prime Minister Albanese announced Deakin University will open India's first foreign university campus in GIFT City in Gujarat, setting a precedent for new growth opportunities for Australia's education providers.
Similarly, I was thrilled to join the University of Melbourne to announce a major expansion of its dual Bachelor of Science degree program with the University of Madras, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management and Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Our relationship with India is strong but it can be stronger.
Prime Minister Albanese and India's Prime Minister Modi share an ambition to grow our trading relationship through our next free trade agreement with India, an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, which will further strengthen our economic partnership and open new avenues for cooperation.
I spoke to my Indian counterpart Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal overnight, and am happy to report that negotiations are moving swiftly to conclude our next free trade agreement.
