Guy Barnett,Minister for Trade
The Tasmanian Liberal Government welcomes today’s announcement that the Australian Government has signed a free trade deal with India, boosting access to one of the world’s largest economies.
Under the deal, 85 per cent of Australian goods by value will enter India duty-free, with the top Tasmanian exports to benefit being wine, cherries, and wool.
As we continue to grow and expand access to world markets for Tasmanian products, our Government looks forward to deepening our partnership with India, following on from our State’s first trade mission to India in 2016.
While at present, the Indian market represents $48 million in merchandise exports for Tasmania, we recognise that the growth potential is immense and of course, the international education market is already strong.
Tasmania’s record export figures demonstrate that the world wants what Tasmania has and a more diverse trade and tourism strategy means more jobs and more opportunities for our State.
Further growing our trade with India will support our economic recovery and unlock even greater capacity for Tasmanian businesses to thrive.
Our Trade Strategy is focussed on removing barriers for Tasmanian producers and providing them with certainty as they work to get their goods to market, and today’s announcement will help us do that.
In 2021, Tasmania exported $6 million worth of wine and Tasmania was Australia’s largest exporter to the world of cherries, meaning today’s changes in tariffs will make an immense difference.
Our Government is the strongest supporter of our exporters and our booming resources and primary industries sectors, and we look forward to increasing trade opportunities in the future so that Tasmanian businesses can continue to produce world-class products.
