Kolkata: From jewellery, Darjeeling tea and roasted coffee to betel leaves, fruits and vegetables including mango, jackfruit and arum (kochu), the first consignments after the implementation of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom, valued at nearly Rs 28 crore, left the Kolkata customs office on Wednesday. The deal under the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which came into effect on Wednesday, grants Indian exporters duty-free access to 99% of UK tariff lines while significantly lowering import duties on UK goods entering the country.State commerce and industry minister Tapas Roy, who flagged off the consignments at the Kolkata Air Cargo Complex, said the CETA would make the state “more competitive in exports”. He assured exporters that he would take up the matter with the Centre to frame measures that would further enhance the competitiveness of Bengal’s products in the British market. Among others present at the flagging-off ceremony were CBIC member Yogendra Garg, additional director general of foreign trade Chandra Kant Mishra and British deputy high commissioner for east and northeast India Andrew Fleming.Fleming said, “We are not sending a consignment but a signal to Delhi and the UK with the world. Bengal produces tea, textiles and so many other things having high demand in the UK. People visiting cafes in Britain want Kolkata tea, while they prefer Kolkata jewellery in shop windows.”Last year, exports of various commodities to the UK stood at Rs 2,412 crore. Roy said, “Bengal has several things that have high demand in the UK. The govt will take initiatives to increase the export of jewellery crafted by the artisans of our state. As for shipment, there are a few issues related to flight operations and cargo, and we will try to resolve them with the help of the Centre. I shall also speak with Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal in this regard.”Six city-based jewellery exporters sent consignments worth Rs 27 crore, followed by the Tea Board of India’s 550kg Darjeeling tea worth around Rs 5.3 lakh.“Today, jewellery worth Rs 27 crore, made from 21 kg of gold, was flagged off for export to the UK under CETA, which provides the direct benefit of the elimination of the 2% import duty. The agreement provides zero-duty access to the UK market from the day it enters into force, eliminating UK import tariffs. With zero-duty access, we expect India’s gem and jewellery exports to the UK to increase from around $754 million to nearly $2.5 billion over the next three years,” said GJEPC eastern region chairman Pankaj Parekh.The minister pointed out that while agricultural products like tea, mango and betel leaves already enjoy duty-free access to the UK, the agreement also eliminates import duties on jewellery, which earlier attracted tariffs of 2%-4%. He stated the biggest gains for Bengal would come in labour-intensive sectors such as leather, jute and gems and jewellery.Leather products earlier attracted import duties of 8%-16% in the UK, while jute products faced tariffs of 4%-12%. Seafood also attracted a high import duty. “These duties have now been removed under the agreement, making our products more competitive,” an official said.Meanwhile, an official of the Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port Kolkata said several UK-bound containers of cotton and rubber were already loaded.
