India’s growing population, rising incomes, and increasing rates of urbanisation are driving demand for agricultural, fisheries and forestry (AFF) products. The ‘grocery and food retail market’ is the largest segment of the Indian retail sector, valued at US$570 billion in 2021. This is forecast to rise to US$850 billion by 2025. Indian imports of AFF products reached a record US$37.3 billion in 2021 (UN Comtrade 2022).
The value of Australian AFF exports to India peaked at $2.57 billion in 2017. The value of exports in 2021 was $634.8 million, 75.3% lower than 2017 levels. This decline was due to lower pulse and wheat exports.
Australian exporters are well positioned to capitalise on new commercial opportunities in India. This is due to the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), counter-seasonality and geographical proximity.
Consumption of agri-food products in India consists of 80% staple foods and fresh produce. Consumers look for products with strong food safety and sustainability standards.
In the long term, India’s agri-food consumption will become more diverse with higher intakes of dairy products, seafood, fruit and vegetables. The change in consumption is expected to occur most among urban households where income growth is expected to be the largest. Confectionaries, beverages and snacks are also growing rapidly.
Source: austrade.gov.au