As UK-India free trade deal nears, fate of British rice millers remains unclear
- Thanks to cost-effective import tariffs, the UK imports 150,000 metric tons of brown rice, or a quarter of its total rice imports from India
- Slashing the tariff on white rice would leave UK mills redundant, industry leaders claim, while bringing negligible price benefits for consumers
A £1 billion (US$1.2 billion) corner of the UK economy is fearing for its future as Britain and India close in on a long-awaited free-trade agreement.
British rice millers such as Tilda Ltd. and Veetee Rice have thrived for decades by importing low-tariff unmilled brown rice from the likes of India and Pakistan and “polishing” the grains into the white product loved by UK consumers.
But with India pressing for tariffs on white rice to be slashed, and little feedback from British trade officials, concerns are mounting for an industry that employs more than 3,000 people at 16 mills and processing plants scattered from Kent in southern England to Yorkshire in the north.
“It is crucial that existing tariffs on milled [white] rice are maintained,” Alex Waugh, outgoing director of The Rice Association, said at a private event in the House of Commons last month attended by rice industry leaders and government officials.
“If access on milled rice is conceded, the basis of operations will be undermined, the incentive for future investment in the UK will be lost and ultimately jobs will go.”
A spokesperson for the UK Department for Business and Trade said officials were working towards an “ambitious trade deal.”
“We have always been clear we will only sign a deal that is fair, balanced and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy,” the spokesperson said.
