By Manoj Kumar and Lucy Craymer
NEW DELHI/WELLINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - India and New Zealand signed a free trade agreement (FTA) on Monday, lowering tariffs on key fruit imports such as kiwifruit and apples, expanding opportunities for Indian exports and easing visa access as the nations deepen economic ties.
Concluded in December after about nine months of talks, the pact is one of the South Asian nation's fastest trade deals, and will cut or remove tariffs on 95% of New Zealand's exports to India,
including seafood, iron, steel and scrap aluminium.
"The benefits of this FTA are widespread," New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in a statement, adding that it would open the doors of opportunity to 1.4 billion consumers in the Indian market.
"New Zealand has also committed to invest $20 billion," Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said after signing the pact with his counterpart Todd McClay in the presence of business leaders from both countries.
In agriculture, India kept sensitive sectors such as dairy, coffee, sugar, spices, edible oils and rubber outside market access commitments to protect domestic producers, he said.
That was a disappointment for New Zealand's dairy industry, its largest export sector.
The agreement is part of India's push to diversify exports amid global trade tension, such as uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and the Middle East conflict.
New Delhi has also advanced trade talks with Britain, Oman and the European Union as it pushes for wider market access with major partners.
Under the deal, New Zealand will offer market access across 118 services sectors from the professional, audio-visual and computer-related to construction, telecoms and tourism.
The deal also provides a quota of 5,000 temporary employment visas for Indian professionals and 1,000 working holiday visas, while easing post-study work rights for Indian students, Indian officials said.
It requires approval from New Zealand's parliament, but is expected to pass after support expressed by the opposition Labour Party last week. Trade agreements in New Zealand have historically received bipartisan support.
TARIFF CUTS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME
The pact will lower tariffs on wine over 10 years and allow immediate duty-free access for dairy and other food ingredients meant for re-export, while phasing in duty-free access for bulk infant formula and other high-value dairy products over seven years, and halving a tariff on high-value milk albumins within a New Zealand-specific quota.
McClay said the deal would support New Zealand’s goal of doubling exports in 10 years.
"This deal will deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in additional exports."
More than half of New Zealand's exports to India will become duty-free immediately, with tariffs on other products reduced over time, New Zealand said in a statement.
The deal is expected to boost key Indian export sectors such as textiles, leather, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods and automobiles, while allowing duty-free access to industrial inputs such as wooden logs, coking coal and metal scrap.
Two-way trade remains modest. Indian data showed merchandise trade at about $1.3 billion in 2024/25, while total goods and services trade was estimated at roughly $2.4 billion in 2024.
($1=NZ$1.7033)
(Additional reporting by Renu Jose in Sydney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
