The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Call to involve professionals in boosting exports to Australia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 30, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Call to involve professionals in boosting exports to Australia

Staff Reporter

"Vast potential to improve business remains untapped"

CHENNAI: India should consider drawing on the expertise of "dynamic" marketing professionals in the private sector to exploit the vast potential to improve its exports to Australia, said T.J. Rao, honorary consul-general of India in Melbourne.

Experts would be able to deliver better results than bureaucrats, he told a meeting organised here on Monday by the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce. The country should post the marketing experts across Australia and subsequently create an organisation devoted to promoting Indian trade and business on the lines of Austrade in India.

A lot of opportunities existed for Indian companies in the coal mining sector of Australia and for manufacturers of engineering goods and farm equipment, Dr. Rao said, advising exporters to have patience and think long-term while doing business in Australia. "The first visit is just exploratory ... do not come with the idea of signing a deal straightaway," he said.

Underlining the importance of maintaining the quality of the products exported, he cautioned the exporters against sending consignments without a letter of credit.

Speaking on `Indo-Australian trade relations - changing profiles and equations,' the chairman and managing director of the Export-Import Bank of India, T.C. Venkat Subramanian, said India's exports to Australia amounted to only US $ 0.7 billion against imports worth $ 3.6 billion. The ongoing negotiations on a trade and economic framework between the two countries, he said, would set the direction for the facilitation and future development of trade and economic relations. It would promote strategic cooperation in several areas, including energy and mining, infrastructure development, information and communication technology, agriculture and biotechnology.

Noting that the Indian companies were investing more in Australia than the Australian companies in India, he said the Exim Bank was keen on promoting Indian ventures abroad. Selectively, it would consider picking up equity stake in such ventures and those promoted by Australian companies in India.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu