Is India really the new China for budding Australian exporters?
Darren Baguley examines this complex trading partner and wonders whether establishing a foothold on the sub-continent is as difficult as some entrepreneurs are led to believe. To most Australians, India is synonymous with curry, cricket and outsourcing, but the country is also shaping up as a major export market for Australia. In 2006, India was Australia’s sixth largest export market, with $8.18 billion in goods and services heading across the Indian Ocean and growing at 26.4 percent. Australia is India’s fifth largest import partner and, with a total population of 1.1 billion people, a burgeoning 241 million-strong middle class and economic growth hovering around eight to nine percent, the opportunities are huge. Nevertheless, just like that other emerging economic giant, China; there are considerable challenges to doing business in India. “The two main challenges are the regulatory environment, particularly the informal trade barriers, and the infrastructure deficiencies,” says Aust
