July 16, 2019
Under India’s National Livestock Mission, Australian sheep will be part of a sheep breeding program for wool development
First sheep are expected to arrive in India by October 2019 for settling at the Uttarakhand State Wool Development Board
India’s raw wool exports rose from US$766,187 in 2017 to US$838,459 between April to October, 2018
India has the 7th largest wool and woollen textile industry in the world, offering opportunities across the production chain
India’s agriculture and animal husbandry sector continues to grow as Australia and India finalise a new veterinary health protocol, as per media reports on July 17, citing an official statement. The agreement will allow for the export of Australian breeder sheep to India, adding to an existing agricultural relationship between the two countries.
Under India’s Livestock Mission, Australian sheep will be part of a breeding program for wool development over September-October 2019, as the first sheep arrive in India for settling at the Uttarakhand State Wool Development Board.
The milestone agreement was commemorated at an event hosted by Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Her Excellency Ms Harinder Sidhu, as she exchanged the protocol with Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Tarun Shridhar IAS.
The event established the critical importance of the agricultural sector, including animal husbandry, to both India and Australia’s economic growth and development. Despite numerous differences between the two agriculture sectors, cooperation on specific items have established a bilateral partnership between the two countries.
Since the 1960s, Australia and India have built the foundations of its agriculture relationship with cooperation on wheat and wool. The Indian Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the Australian Department of Agriculture have agreed upon a protocol to support the development of India’s fine wool sector and textiles industry, with the help of Australian production expertise and genetic stock.
India’s wool and woollen textile industry is the seventh-largest in the world, with the US and EU serving as key importers of Indian wool and wool-blended products. India’s raw wool exports rose from US$766,187 in 2017 to US$838,459 between April to October, 2018. As wool production increases, the country’s textile sector stands to benefit from improved employment generation through the creation of additional jobs and production chain opportunities.