News: India-Mauritius PTA to start on a high note

(HT 22/02/2007) New Delhi - With the India-Mauritius PTA on the verge of being signed, the two countries are readying to toast with premium Mauritian rum and Indian wine. India has offered Mauritius a 50% duty waiver on a one-off export of 150,000 litres of rum, Mauritius is doing the same for 500,000 litres of Indian wine, according to officials in the commerce and industry ministry.

With this, the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) — of which the PTA is a part — seems set for heady times.

While the amount of Mauritian rum coming in will be a mere drop in the ocean in the 360 m litre Indian rum market, Mauritian brewers are confident that their premium rums, especially the high-end flavoured and spiced ones, will be able to carve a niche for themselves.

"Quality-wise, we are as good as the biggest international brands," says Frederic Bestel from Scott and Co Ltd, which produces high-end brands like Sir Richard and Reserve 1850, 'and we will be targeting the high-end market'.

Mauritian rums like the Blue Bay B of the Chatel stable, have won awards internationally and have made inroads into the European and American markets. In India, however, only the Green Island brand is available, and that too only in Goa.

This may change soon as brewers from Mauritius have been taking advantage of the waiver to test the Indian waters. A delegation representing seven of the biggest names in the business are currently touring India to meet representatives from the Indian IMFL (Indian-made foreign liquor) industry to explore tie-ups for marketing, bottling and even brewing. Indian wine makers are also readying up to explore the Mauritian market.

“We will be happy to tie up with some good Mauritian importers to introduce our wines in some select locations,” says Rajiv Samant from Sula Vineyards.

This is especially so because Mauritius can help India get duty-free access to European and US markets under the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) Initiative and the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act), respectively.

“It is a win-win situation for both countries,” says Arun Ramduny from Enterprise Mauritius, a consultancy firm, adding, “the rum and wine concessions augurs well for the CECPA.”