Geraldton western rock lobster heading to India in new trade agreement

Geraldton western rock lobster will soon be found in fine dining restaurants across India after a trade deal passed through Federal Parliament this week. A new trade deal between Australia and India has opened up new opportunities for the Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative to export western rock lobster to the nation of almost 1.4 billion people. The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement passed through Parliament on November 22, easing restrictions on trade between the two nations. India’s 30 per cent tariff on fresh imported rock lobster lobster from Australia will be lifted immediately, while tariffs on frozen lobster will be lifted in the next several years. The Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative will be working with Indian distributor Empire Foods, with a focus on live exports to high-end restaurants and hotels. Corporate affairs manager Shaun McInnes said entering the Indian market would be a slow and careful process, but it represented a great opportunity for the group. “Nobody expects it to happen over night, its a long effort,” he said. “It is a large market, there is a huge amount of wealth in India . . . we will be working on this for many years.” The co-op has been a keen supporter of the trade deal, and took part in a WA trade delegation to the country in July to showcase its product. For that trip, 200kg of rock lobster were transported from Geraldton to Perth to Chennai to give delegates a taste of the local delicacy. Mr McInnes said the co-op would continue promoting its rock lobster to Indian companies and expected exports to India to start in the first quarter of 2023. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said India would be a priority market for the mid-to-long term future of the WA agrifood sector, which the trade deal would help support.