FTAs with Aus, UAE, UK to provide greater mkt access to Indian agri sector: Piyush Goyal

Free trade agreements (FTAs) with developed markets such as Australia, UAE and UK will provide greater market access for the domestic agri sector, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

He said that despite the global slowdown, India's agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery exports stood at Rs 4 lakh crore.

"We are doing FTAs with developed markets...Australia, UAE, EFTA, UK...through these agreements, we have opened up new markets for our agri sector," Goyal said here at an event.

India implemented trade pacts with Australia and the UAE in 2022. FTA with the four-nation European bloc, EFTA, was signed in March 2024, and it is expected to be implemented later this year.

The trade pact with the UK was announced in May. It is likely to be signed soon.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.