The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) has voiced concerns over India’s slashing of tariffs on UK spirits as part of the India-UK trade deal, announced yesterday (6 May).
In a statement, director general of the representative body Anant S Iyer said the interests of India’s alcohol sector were not reflected in the trade deal.
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“Though FTA (Free Trade Agreement) details are still awaited, from what information we have gathered it seems that the government has not fully heeded to the pleas of the Indian alcoholic beverage industry,” he said.
“We have always been asking for a level-playing field for the Indian players. We only hope that the government has included in the FTA the MIP (minimum import price) which will prevent dumping / under invoicing and also the removal of non tariff barriers to ensure better international market access to Indian alcoholic beverages.”
As part of the new trade deal, whisky and gin tariffs will be halved to 75% from 150%, later falling to 40% by “year ten” of the deal, the UK’s Department of Business and Trade said.
According to the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), India is the largest export market by volume for Scotch whisky, with the equivalent of more than 192 million bottles exported there in 2024, up 14.6% on the year prior.
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By GlobalDataWhen looking at the value of Scotch whisky exports, India ranked fifth in 2024. Some £248m of Scotch whisky exports were sent to India last year, 13.8% higher than in 2023.
Soft drinks exports from the UK will face no tariffs, and the deal will improve access to ingredients made in India, according to the UK’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
According to Iyer however, Indian wine and spirits makers would be put at risk if similar trade deals are made with other countries. “We fear that if the same template of duty reduction is followed for the trade deals with the EU, the US and other nations which produce spirits and wines, then the Indian Alcobev industry, including the wine sector, could get adversely impacted.”
The CIABC director general also warned the Indian government that it could fail to meet its target of $1bn alcohol industry exports by 2030 without better access to UK, EU and Australian markets.
