The Australian horticultural industry has given a positive response to Trade Minister Andrew Robb's recent visit to India, where he is working on establishing a free trade agreement (FTA) with the South Asian nation, media agency the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

Robb told the ABC he believed a deal could be reached by the end of 2015.

"It is possible. The timetable wasn't just set by Prime Minister Abbott. In fact, the driver of a 12-month agreement was really [Indian] Prime Minister Modi, and he's said it publicly as well," Robb was quoted as saying.

Australian Horticultural Exporters' Association (AHEA) chairman David Minnis said Australia ought to have more trade with India given the two countries' close cultural and historical ties.

"One of the problems for us in India is that we're probably the most expensive supplier, because of our high labour costs and transport costs, so we certainly would welcome a free trade agreement that would lower duties and allow us to become more competitive," Minnis was quoted as saying.

The chair of newly-formed industry group Voice of Horticulture, Tania Chapman - who also chairs Citrus Australia - told the ABC an FTA with India could help the industry replicate the success seen in China over recent years.

"It's almost akin to China in that middle class wealth, the ability to afford fresh fruit and vegetables, especially imported fruit and vegetables from Australia, is rising at astronomical rate," she was quoted as saying.

"As in China where, for citrus for example, we've gone from exporting five containers just four years ago, to 800 this year, that kind of astronomical growth is the kind of thing we have the potential to see in India."

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