Indian officials visited Australia for the sixth meeting of the India-Australia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Cooperation in Agriculture on 28 February 2025.
The JWG on Cooperation in Agriculture provides an important avenue for bilateral discussions on agricultural cooperation and technical market access.
Deputy Secretary for Agricultural Trade and Regulation, Tina Hutchison, said the JWG is the cornerstone of our longstanding and mutually beneficial agriculture relationship with India.
“We want to complement, contribute to and cooperate with India’s agriculture sector,” Ms Hutchison said.
“The JWG is an excellent opportunity to reaffirm our joint commitment to these priorities and outline new areas of collaboration for the future – one in which producers from India and Australia can prosper together.
“The relationship between our nations is growing and our economies are highly favourable.
“Increased market liberalisation in India and seasonal complementarity of produce means we can support India’s objectives for food security and help it meet demand from its growing consumer class.
“At the government and industry level, Australia and India are also committed to sharing expertise to enhance agricultural productivity, efficiency and supply chain management – all of which can lead to better outcomes for our farmers.”
India’s Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Dr Maninder Kaur Dwivedi and senior officials, toured agri-tech and innovation sites and undertook meetings with Australian industry groups on opportunities for future agricultural cooperation.
2025 also marks five years of the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and two years into implementation of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA).
Exports of Australian premium agricultural products to India have increased 88% since ECTA came into force at the end of 2022. Indian agricultural exports to Australia have increased by 35% in the same period.
