UKIBC Sector Expert welcomes the FTA between UK and India
By Trisha Nagpal
By: Shubhi Mishra
Food & Drink, Sector Lead
We warmly welcome the recent Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and India, establishing a roadmap to opportunities for companies, particularly those from the agriculture, food, and drink sectors, to advance collaboration and share best practices. This landmark agreement is poised to bring substantial benefits to businesses and consumers alike.
Tariffs on UK alcoholic beverages, such as whisky and gin, will be halved from 150% to 75%, with a gradual reduction to 40% over the next decade. For Indian consumers, this means greater access to premium imported products at more affordable prices. For Indian liquor producers, who rely heavily on imported Scotch for local blending and bottling (nearly 79% of which is imported in bulk), this will lead to reduced input costs, fostering local production while ensuring the highest quality standards.
Beyond alcoholic beverages, the FTA also offers substantial benefits across a range of F&D products, including lamb, salmon, chocolates, biscuits, and soft drinks. This not only enhances choices for Indians, but also presents new growth opportunities for UK exporters. The agreement also opens up avenues for collaboration on sustainability and innovation, enabling both countries to adopt greener, more efficient production and supply chain practices.
To bring more context to this, I would like to underscore the findings from the UKIBC’s Ease of Doing Business survey. In this survey, we pose direct questions to UK businesses active in India, including their perspective on the Self-reliant India campaign. The findings demonstrated that businesses not only view India as a market for their products but also recognise it as a manufacturing hub capable of incorporating their inputs for further value addition and consumption. We are confident that the FTA announcement will continue to contribute towards this positive emotion of growth and synergies between the two economies.
On the other side, Indian exporters will gain zero-duty access to 99% of UK tariff lines, creating tremendous opportunities for sectors such as textiles, marine products, leather, and others. Importantly, the FTA provides pathways for SMEs on both sides to access new markets, build partnerships, and benefit from simplified regulatory processes.
It is critical for businesses to take cognisance of the diversity of the Indian and British markets for their operations and widen their footprint in what is an increasingly globalising economy. For more information on the food and drink sector, UKIBC can be contacted at enquiries@ukibc.com.
