Limited Gains for Indian Agriculture from UK Trade Deal

28-Jul-2025 05:11 PM

New Delhi. The recently signed bilateral trade agreement (FTA) between India and Britain (England) will prove to be beneficial for both the countries, but experts say that the Indian agriculture sector will get only limited benefits from it because Britain is not a leading importer of many agricultural products.

England actually gives priority to the import of processed goods of raw agricultural products. The export of processed food products from India is relatively less.

On the other hand, the Indian agriculture sector does not face any special threat from Britain under this agreement because the production of agricultural products there is not so high that it can be exported in large quantities to any other country.

Anyway, dairy products, apples and edible oils have been kept out of this agreement. It is worth mentioning that about $ 3.90 billion worth of dairy products are imported in Britain every year. Similarly, it is among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of import of processed food products.

If India had met its quality standards, it could have got huge benefits. APEDA data shows that the 10 most imported agricultural and processed food products in the UK include grain products, alcoholic beverages, fresh fruits, miscellaneous processed products, fresh vegetables, dairy products, cocoa products, processed meat, spices and processed vegetables.

In the year 2023, the total cost of import of these products there was recorded at $ 46.34 billion. Import of marine products stood at number 11. Liquid milk and cheese, barley, wheat, chicken meat, corn, sugar, soybean meal, rapeseed meal, rapeseed oil etc. are imported in good quantities in the UK.