It is not the agreement that will explode Italian exports to India tomorrow, but it is the one that finally changes the rules of the game. With the gradual reduction of hitherto prohibitive duties, wine becomes the forerunner of a broader strategy involving territories, supply chains and quality agribusiness. India remains a complex, selective and slow market, but precisely for this reason strategic: not a commercial shortcut, but a long-term bet. For Made in Italy, the value will not be in immediate volumes, but in the ability to preside over a country that is changing consumption, lifestyles and aspirations.
The free trade agreement between the European Union and India, signed in New Delhi, marks a key step in Europe’s strategy of opening up trade to non-Western markets. An agreement that, for Italy, has a very specific name and face: wine and quality agri-food, until now heavily penalized by one of the most restrictive tariff regimes in the world.
UIV: wine as a geopolitical and economic lever
Putting wine at the center of the new scenario is. UIV – Unione Italiana Vini, the organization representing companies in the Italian wine sector. For UIV, the EU-India agreement is first and foremost a structural breakthrough. Import duties, now at 150 percent, are immediately halved and will gradually fall to 30 percent over seven years, with a final rate of 20 percent for wines above 10 euros per bottle. There is also a chapter devoted to the protection of appellations and trademarks.
According to Chairman Lamberto Frescobaldi, the agreement should also be read as a response to global geoeconomic tensions and the need to diversify outlet markets. Considering that 60 percent of Italian wine exports are concentrated in just five countries. In this framework, India goes from being a marginal market to a long-term strategic horizon.
Federvini: competitiveness and expanded supply chain
A similar reading comes from Federvini, the federation that brings together producers of wines, spirits and vinegars. President Giacomo Ponti speaks of a “breakthrough” for the competitiveness of European products. Emphasizing how the agreement breaks down barriers that have limited access to the Indian market for decades.
Federvini highlights the value of the agreement for the entire beverage supply chain. Pointing out that spirits will also benefit from a gradual reduction in duties, which will stand at 40 percent when fully implemented. In an unstable international context, India is indicated as a strategic director of growth and resilience for Italian exports.
Wine Cities: territories, promotion and wine tourism
Completing the picture from the territorial point of view is the National Association of Wine Cities, which represents more than 500 Italian wine-producing municipalities. President Angelo Radica stresses how the agreement opens “significant opportunities” for exports, but also for the promotion of the country as a whole.
According to Wine Cities, wine can play the role of ambassador of territories. With potential spin-offs on wine tourism as well, provided a coordinated and structured promotion system is built. Capable of transforming commercial openness into cultural and economic value.
Italy of Taste: from political agreement to operations
The look gets more operational with Italia del Gusto, a consortium that brings together export-oriented Italian agribusiness companies. For the consortium, the EU-India agreement represents a concrete discontinuity, because it finally creates minimum competitive conditions for Italian companies to enter a market that until now was almost inaccessible.
Italia del Gusto insists on a key point, however. Duty reduction is not enough. Facing India requires preparation, knowledge of the local context, adaptation of distribution models and system work. It is on this terrain that the Consortium intends to accompany SMEs, helping them build medium- to long-term strategies and stable trade relations.
Nomisma: food & beverage numbers and real opportunities
Giving analytical depth to the picture is Nomisma, an economic research institute, which highlights how the EU-India agreement is part of a necessary market diversification strategy for Italian companies.
According to Nomisma, India remains a complex market. Wealth is highly concentrated, but there is an affluent class of more than 60 million people, destined to grow, who represent the ideal target for Made in Italy food & beverage. Today, Italian agri-food exports to India are worth just 142 million euros. While wine and olive oil remain residual precisely because of duties.
Progressive liberalization-which will lead, for example, to the elimination of duties on olive oil in five years. A sharp reduction on wine and other products-opens up real room for growth, but only in the long run. As Denis Pantini, head of agribusiness at Nomisma, points out, these are markets that grow in parallel with economic development and changes in people’s lifestyles.
A long, but necessary path
Pending final ratification of the agreement, the message that emerges is shared. India is not an immediate market, but a strategic one. Wine is its symbolic forerunner; food will be its natural extension. Success will depend on the ability of the Italian system to move in a coordinated way, transforming the commercial opening into a project of cultural, even before than economic, positioning.
