Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his second visit to Australia, the last one was in 2023 after the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (…
1/5India’s annual goods trade deficit with Australia has nearly halved to $6.5 billion in the financial year ended March 2026, compared to $12 billion in March 2023, according to an analysis by Rubix, a Mumbai-based firm that offers advocacy and risk management services. The two countries signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which entered into force in December 2022. The agreement granted India preferential market access to 100% of its exports to Australia, in phases. The pact was limited to goods trade, and it didn’t open up the services sector or address labour mobility.
2/5Starting January 2026, all Indian exports are eligible for zero-duty market access into Australia. “While export growth has remained modest, a steady decline in imports has more than halved India’s trade deficit with Australia, an improvement on the import side rather than a broad-based trade gain,” the report concluded.
3/5India’s exports to Australia have slowly expanded. The contribution of refined petroleum products has reduced, while the export of value-added products like gold jewellery, pharmaceuticals, passenger vehicles, and industrial machinery has increased.
4/5India’s coal imports from Australia have fallen sharply, coinciding with a record domestic production and a sharp increase in renewable energy capacity. Interestingly, the contribution of gold imports from Australia to India’s import basket has jumped fourfold, alongside an increase in the export of value-added gold jewellery.
5/5Australia is a critical partner in supporting India’s mineral security, with reserves of at least 21 of the 49 critical minerals identified by the Government of India. The two countries are also part of a broader pact, signed in May 2026, to secure the supply chain of critical minerals under the QUAD, which is a strategic tie-up between India, Japan, Australia, and the US.
