British rice industry fears trade pact with India

Staple issue: Workers unloading rice at a wholesale market in India. For Indian millers, the quantities of their milled rice to be exported to the UK are likely too small to really move the dial on their profits. — Bloomberg

LONDON: The £1bil (US$1.2bil) corner of the UK economy is fearing for its future as Britain and India close in on a long-awaited free-trade agreement (FTA).

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.