India-Australia ECTA to boost trade and investment in liquor sector

New Delhi [India], April 2 : The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed between India and Australia on Saturday will give a boost to trade and investment in the liquor sector, the industry body said.
Talking to ANI, Vinod Giri, Director General, Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), said India-Australia ECTA is positive both from the point of view of trade as well as investment.
"It opens up market access to India and not only in terms of the trade but also in terms of investment collaboration," he said.
"It is a great benefit because our industry is still in the nascent phase," Giri said adding the collaboration with Australian firms would help Indian companies in the liquor sector.
He said the ECTA would be beneficial for all the stakeholders on both sides - governments, industry and consumers.
India's Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan on Saturday signed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, in a virtual ceremony in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
Giri said through the ECTA pact India and Australia have tried to address several of the regulatory hurdles faced by liquor sector.
"There are some regulatory hurdles. But the ECTA clearly outlines a pathway to navigate through those regulatory hurdles within a specified timeframe. So once that happens then the Australian market is also open to the Indian exports, which is something we are very optimistic for and really looking forward," he said.
He pointed out that liquor industry deals primarily in two categories - regular wines and premium wines. Currently, the effective duties on wines are 150 per cent. As part of the deal this duty will come down significantly.