WA BUSINESSES have been urged to consider India as an export market.
Commerce and Trade Minister Hendy Cowan said India had a relatively strong economic position within the Indian Ocean Rim community and a huge population.
He said India was a complex land.
“Up to 30 per cent of Indians live below the poverty line, yet it is ranked fifth in the world in terms of purchasing power parity,” Mr Cowan said.
“It is the world’s ninth largest manufacturing economy and 15th in terms of total GDP. Yet per capita GDP is $350.
“Exporters should not let these complexities deter them. Instead, they should be guided by one outstanding statistic – India is the second most populous nation on earth, representing a market 50 time the size of Australia.
“An exporter limiting his efforts to the top 2 per cent of the Indian market – where there is purchasing power aplenty – would still be doubling the opportunities that Australia can offer.”
Two-way trade between WA and India has been growing steadily, totalling $465 million in 1997-98 – more than five times the level of four years ago.
In the same period India’s imports from WA grew more than eight-fold to $421 million.
Mr Cowan said the growth rate of WA-India trade was twice the rate of Australia-India trade.
