![]() ![]() “If you look at the Scotch whisky export stats from around about 2007, you can see that the upward trajectory steepened following that change.” Since 2010, the value of Scotch shipments to India has risen from £40.6 million to a peak of £166.2m in 2019. “150% is the maximum tariff that India can impose on wines and spirits under the World Trade Organization,” Bell says. ![]() In 2007, he was there to see India’s tariffs tumble from more than 600% to 150%, where they have remained ever since. “Just 18 years,” sighs Martin Bell, about his own involvement as deputy director for trade at the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). The battle to bring down India’s protectionist wall of import tariffs has dragged on for a while. “The latest report I’ve heard is that talks are going to resume soon, and they may conclude by the end of March 2023,” says Rakshit Jagdale, managing director of Amrut Distilleries, speaking in mid-November. The new prime minister was to replace Boris Johnson, and the UK has had two in the meantime, which has meant the proposed completion deadline of this year’s Diwali on 24 October came and went. But it’s more encouraging than it’s ever been.” “India has big asks and the UK has big asks, and we’ll have to wait for a new prime minister. “The FTA (free trade agreement) is happening, and Scotch whisky is on the table,” said Ivan Menezes, Diageo’s CEO at the firm’s full-year results in July. The country’s punitive tariffs have held back the drink for decades, but change is in the air. “In all the time I’ve been in the industry, I have never felt as optimistic about the potential for a UK trade deal as now,” says Leonard Russell, managing director of Ian Macleod Distillers, about the tantalising prospect of India, the world’s biggest whisky market, finally opening up to Scotch. *This feature was originally published in the December 2022 edition of The Spirits Business magazine. Producers are excited about the opportunities for Scotch in India But a mooted free trade agreement could open up the territory to a whisky gold rush. India’s maze of state-controlled alcohol laws means it is hard for Scotch brands to make their mark in the country as a whole. ![]()
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