'Open for business': Yorkshire firms have 'phenomenal' opportunity to trade with India as tariffs slashed
Yorkshire companies have a "phenomenal” opportunity to do business with India as senior leaders from across the North of England prepare to head to the country for a trade trip, it has been claimed.
A ‘Great North’ delegation of civic and business leaders, academics and civic partners, including Yorkshire mayors, is heading to India from October 12 following the recent UK-India Free Trade Agreement which is projected to increase annual bilateral trade by £25.5bn by 2040.
The agreement includes substantial reductions in tariffs on products including alcohol, cars, cosmetics, aerospace, lamb, medical devices, salmon, electrical machinery, soft drinks, chocolate and biscuits.
The trip, which is being sponsored by HSBC, will begin in New Delhi, with the Yorkshire delegation also travelling to Hyderabad and Mumbai in an attempt to win new investment in the region.
Sharon Kaur Jandu OBE, managing director of the Northern Powerhouse Ethnic Minority Business & Policy Forum and founder of the Yorkshire Asian Business Association, told The Yorkshire Post that the trip will put a spotlight on the huge potential of doing business with India.
"The scale of the opportunity is just phenomenal.
"I’ve been encouraging non-Asian businesses to trade with India and get business communities together.
"The scale of the opportunity is much more, especially now with the trade agreement. The trade barriers have gone, the tariffs have gone and for some sectors, this is the sale of the century now.”
Ms Jandu, who is also CEO of strategic partnerships and external engagements for India International Space Station Freeports, added: “What’s brilliant about this is all the mayors are putting a spotlight on trade with India.
"So it will be talked about in India and talked about in the press in the UK.
"They will be making sure the business community are taking notice that India is open for business.
"What has to happen after that is the conversations need to continue. My organisation and other organisations like mine need to step up and work with all the different ecosystems to keep that dialogue going.
“Out of 1.4 billion people in India, 30 per cent is middle class with a high net worth. There’s a huge consumer market who will actually want to buy British goods and products.
"Because of the trade agreement, it makes it much more of a lucrative market.
"The UK has been doing business with India for more than 200 years. Our challenge is how do we encourage the SME community to increase their trade.”
She said while there are some cultural differences between British and Indian businesses, they can be overcome.
"In the UK, we’re process-driven with governance and regulation before we do anything. The Indian mindset is to produce the good or service and then think about structure and governance.
"I understand both. Having the patience to understand the different mindsets of what you are trying to achieve and working on co-creation is powerful.”
She said there are plans to bring a delegation of Indian businesses to the UK in November and arrange meetings across different sectors like textiles and advanced manufacturing.