THINGS are looking good for the fishing industry, pulse croppers and chickpea growers, following a recent trip to India by Grant Woodhams MLA.
Given WA's proximity to the sub Continent, Mr Woodhams said WA had the potential for far greater access and exposure to that part of the world than any other part of Australia.
"From an agricultural point of view, India has always been important to the WA economy, with WA exporting reasonable volumes of wool and wheat to India for a long period of time," he said.
"Now there is a definite potential to increase the chickpea and pulse trade to India.
"If it was possible to increase the chick pea and pulse crops in WA, it could be a big deal for WA farmers, due to the large number of people in India that consume Dahl as part of their daily staple diet.
"If we can increase those variety's for Indian domestic consumption, it would be very beneficial, but again it comes down to agronomics and seasons here.
"It continues to be an area of great interest from an Indian perspective.
"If we can improve our output here, I'm sure it would all be able to be sold into India."
Another potential export was in the fishing industry.
As the fishing industry in India is under-developed and unsophisticated, Mr Woodhams believes there could be options, particularly for rock lobsters, involving co-operative joint ventures.
"For that to happen there needs to be more work done, but it's something I'm pursuing with the Geraldton Fisherman's Co-op," he said.
"With India's rising importance as a manufacturing sector and its growing middle class, it's important WA takes notice in order to gain a better understanding of how India works."
"It is important to look at what our ambitions are, in trade, politics, or even how we deal with the 300,000 Indians that call Australia home.
"You need to go to India to understand the market circumstances that you would be delivering into because the face-to-face contact is imperative."
