Satisfying Results at Vinitaly India in Mumbay and New Delhi
Staff Writer - January 20, 2008
Less whiskey and more wine in the future of India. "We will set up a wine board to solve the problem of duties," said Minister for Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai.
Grape Harvest in India
The culture of wine drinking is rapidly expanding in India, and so does the internal grapevine growing and wine production.
Grover Vineyards Ltd. has been the first ever Indian wine producer to export Indian wine to France. In 1983, founder and owner Kanwal Grover, worked in partnership with Frenchman, Georges Vesselle, to select thirty-five vine stocks which were then planted in Bangalore, in Southern India.
Cut duties, create a system for the 'Made in Italy' in the agro-food field, and promote wine consumption in a country with more than one billion inhabitants.
These are the priorities set forward during the Italo-Indian business discussions held during the two stages of Vinitaly India in Mumbay and New Delhi. The commercial talk related to the spread of the 'Made in Italy' trend in this new growing Asian market finally includes also agro-food as well as its flagship product: wine.
In Mumbay and New Delhi, Vinitaly India saw an increase of 50% in buyers participation compared to the previous year, or 1200 professional Indian buyers ready to replace traditionally beloved spirits with Italian wine. The new trend is also more healthful for Indian drinkers, as stated by the Minister for Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai, during the New Delhi Press Conference on the opening of Vinitaly India in that city.
"Our doctors are recommending consumption of two glasses of red wine every day," said Sahai
This is an excellent perspective in an increasingly westernized market, where 3 million families are expected to achieve upper class status by 2010, and wine consumption growth is projected to double over the next 2 years. Despite the fact that major international distribution chains are planning Indian investments to launch local wholesale outlets, Italian Minister of Agriculture, Paolo De Castro, said that there is still a great deal to do to close the trading gap of €170 million euro, due mainly to extremely high duties, which in certain cases are as high as 250%.
Such an absurd tariff schedule seriously penalizes Italian exports, starting with wine. This is why meetings between the Ministers of the two countries,as well as between bilateral delegations, focused in particular on the reduction of tariffs as a necessary measure for launching substantial Italian investments in India.
"A committee (is needed) to discuss the problem of customs duties, and thereby respond to the marketing expectations and requirements of Italian companies," stated the Indian Minister for Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai.
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