from a UK-India Free Trade Agreement

For example, £200 million of the new UK-India trade and investment deals announced in May 2021 were related to low carbon growth.

• Food and drink:

The FTA will open up new markets for UK food and drink exporters to India, which is one of the largest consumers of food and beverages in the world. It will also reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on agricultural products, such as dairy, meat, fish and wine. For example, Loch Fyne Oysters has secured a deal worth £37 million to export its smoked salmon to India over the next five years.

• Textiles:

Indian textile companies have suffered a major disadvantage with high tariffs selling into the UK, where their immediate neighbours have tariff free access.

This agreement will level the playing field and should reduce costs to UK consumers.

The opportunities from a UK-India FTA are immense, as both countries have complementary strengths and huge potential for growth.

The FTA will not only boost bilateral trade and investment, but also strengthen strategic ties and mutual understanding between the UK and India.

The agreement will also support both countries’ recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and their transition to a greener and more resilient future.

The UK is already the second largest exporter of services in the world and has decades long associations with Indian operations; this deal will provide significant further opportunities for this vital UK sector.

The Indian economy has transformed over the last few decades with 10 fold growth in GDP over the last 18 year and further massive anticipated growth over the rest of this decade. This is leading to rapid growth in the professional and middle class sector, which is estimated to have already reached 6 or 7 times the total population of the UK.

The opportunities in the dynamic

Useful links: gov.uk/business-and-industry/exporting gov.uk/government/publications/export-strategy-made-in-the-uk-sold-to-the-world/ made-in-the-uk-sold-to-the-world-web-version export.org.uk britishchambers.org.uk

Indian market for UK companies are huge and growing and any reader who has not started looking at this exciting market yet, should certainly consider doing so.

Tony Goodman MBE is a successful exporter and has been doing so through a variety of different businesses. He is currently Marketing Advisor at Forest and Co who specialise in offering guidance on branding, exporting and sales: www.forestandco.com

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