SDG 2: Zero Hunger | SDG 17: Partnerships
Institutions: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare | FSSAI
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 24 September 2025 in New Delhi to cooperate on food safety standards, knowledge sharing, import procedures, and capacity building. The agreement strengthens institutional links and sets the stage for technical alignment across both countries.
This MoU complements and reinforces the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) for Organic Products signed on the same date under the umbrella of India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Arrangement (ECTA), which simplified certification equivalence and opened access for Indian organic exports (~USD 8.96 million in 2024-25) to Australia.
These steps reflect deeper momentum in the India–Australia trade relationship. Earlier rounds of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations have sought to expand liberalisation across goods, services, and regulatory cooperation. The new food safety MoU helps build mutual trust in standards, a crucial precondition for more sensitive sectors like processed foods, dairy, and agricultural inputs.
Policy Relevance:
Institutional cooperation on food safety could reduce non-tariff barriers (NTBs) for agricultural and processed goods, thereby enhancing export competitiveness.
The MoU builds regulatory convergence, which is a key enabler for any future CECA chapters.
For India, the alignment serves goals under Agri Export Policy, Make in India, and strengthening export assurance for farmers and processors, including small and organic producers.
What is CECA? → The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is the proposed full-spectrum trade pact between India and Australia. It goes beyond tariffs to cover services, investments, intellectual property, government procurement, and regulatory cooperation. Negotiations have been underway since 2011, with the 11th round completed in 2025.
What is ECTA? → The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), signed in 2022, is an interim or “early harvest” deal between India and Australia. It liberalised select tariff lines (covering about 85% of Australian exports and 96% of Indian exports) and provided a framework to deepen talks towards a CECA.
What is an MRA? → A Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) is a technical pact in which two countries agree to recognise each other’s standards or certifications as equivalent. The India–Australia MRA on organic products (Sept 2025) is an example: it reduces duplicative compliance and boosts agri-trade under the broader ECTA/CECA framework.
How they tie together →
ECTA = the stepping stone; a limited trade deal already in force.
MRAs = sector-specific confidence-building tools under ECTA (like organic products, food safety).
CECA = the bigger, comprehensive end-goal; MRAs + ECTA successes build trust to unlock sensitive sectors (like dairy, services, critical minerals).
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders:
Could expanding institutional MoUs (like food safety) pave the way for broader sector-level liberalisation and regulatory integration under a full CECA?
Follow the full news here: PIB: FSSAI–DAFF MoU | PIB: India–Australia Organic MRA