AIBC announces Agribusiness chapter launch, highlights growing trade opportunities between India and Australia

The latest AIBC webinar on July 30 brought together a panel of expert speakers to announce the launching of the Agribusiness chapter which would capitalize on the increasing avenues of Australian agribusiness in the vast Indian market

The monumental June 4 virtual summit between PM Morrison and his Indian counterpart PM Modi set into motion a myriad of opportunities between both the democratic nations with the long-awaited materialization of the nine Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreements. Among these one of the most pivotal is the agreement on Agriculture Cooperation and Water resources management which promises opportunities for both the Australian and Indian economies, especially since it is being expected strongly that growth in this sector will continue unabated even in the following year despite the uncertainties surrounding the Covid-19 impact in the near future.

The Australia India Business Council (AIBC), which is always at the forefront in identifying and facilitating trade opportunities between the two nations, conducted a webinar on July 30 to launch the Agribusiness Chapter. The participants included key note speakers and panelists comprising Jim Varghese AM, National Chair AIBC; Con Livissianis, Chair AIBC Agribusiness Chapter; David Littleproud, Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management; Manish Gupta, Consul General of India, Sydney; Adrian Murphy, President, Grains Industry

Association of Victoria; Manek Gupta, Managing Director, Glencore Agriculture India, Indian Pulses and Grains Association; Anthony Russell, Executive Manager, Grains Industry Market Access Forum; Shantha Devi Raman, Senior Partner, Law Offices of India, New Delhi; Peter Creaser, Assistant Secretary, Biosecurity Plant Division, Department of Agriculture; and Sumit Rao, Director, Imperial Malt Limited, Haryana, India.

Emergence of feasible opportunities for Australian farming ventures

Acting as moderators, Jim Varghese AM, National Chair AIBC, and Con Livissianis, Chair AIBC Agribusiness Chapter,averred that the time was ripe for Australian farming businesses to look towards India as a potential and feasible market with a wide array of opportunities in areas of food products, agricultural machinery, food processing, food wastage, supply chain, storage and logistics and water management, and harvesting. A stupendous growth in the Agribusiness sector in India being almost a foregone conclusion in the near future, AIBC must be proactive in identifying and forging ties with strategic partners in India for Australian Agribusiness. Citing the Barley Crisis and the Cotton Crisis, both Varghese and Livissianis stated that

collaboration and cooperation need to be fostered with the latter specifically pointing towards the necessity to address the tariff barriers so that Australia can find a perfect substitute in India as they move away from China following the rise in ideological differences between Australia and China.

David Littleproud, Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management acknowledged that formalizing the comprehensive trade agreement with India will be mutually beneficial and also said that Agricultural Research and Development, water irrigation and supply chains were key areas in which Australia needs to ramp up its efforts to partner with India.

Potential role of AIBC in promoting foreign trade in Agriculture sector

Lauding the efforts of AIBC, Adrian Murphy, Grains Industry Association of Victoria, stated that the organization must play a key role in building closer ties between importers and exporters of agri-products and work towards promoting the supply of Australian barley in India. He emphasized that Australia’s pledge to provide quality agricultural products gives them an even stronger footing to add value to the Indian agricultural sector. To ensure that this potential becomes a reality, AIBC is in an ideal position to act as a mediator and facilitator.

Growing market for certain agricultural products and other allied areas

Giving an in-depth analysis of the bilateral trade figures of grains, pulses, chickpeas, barley and cotton, Manek Gupta, Glencore Agriculture India, opined that there will be further opportunities in the trade of pulses, grain and cotton. In a similar vein, Anthony Russell, Executive Manager, Grains Industry Market Access Forum, also identified the potential market for pulses as well as the increasing opportunities to upgrade Indian supply chain, grain storage management and food security. However, he feels that the obstacles facing Australian agribusiness in dealing with its Indian counterpart are tariffs and fumigation methods. Apart from this, Sumit Rao, Director, Imperial Malt Limited, Haryana, India, also shared his views about the inclining opportunities for Australian barley in India and supported his assertion by providing a brief overview of the Indian barley market.

Conducive measures in the Indian Agricultural Sector

Manish Gupta, Consul General of India, Sydney, shared the news about the Indian Government’s decision to launch the National Agricultural Market and reforms in policies that would encourage optimum investment in Agri e-commerce. Recognizing Australia’s potential to play a major role in strengthening the agricultural sector, he welcomed constructive efforts by India and Australia to collaborate in priority areas such as Agri research, Water management, B2B partnerships and Start-ups.

Stringent Indian laws to protect Australian patents

Shantha Devi Raman, Law Offices of India, delineated the various Indian laws that are in place to ensure the security of Australian patents and intellectual property of the Australian Agri products in India, extension of patents and Intellectual Property, and overriding provisions of World Trade Organization agreement. She also added that these will not only safeguard enforceability but also deal with infringements effectively.

Significant progress in tackling bio-security issues

Peter Creaser, Assistant Secretary, Biosecurity Plant Division, Department of Agriculture, on an optimistic note stated that there had been noticeable advancement in dealing with bio-security issues and laid stress on the importance of threat assessment processes for agricultural products, in coming up with the requisite measures.