The India EU Trade Deal Just Changed the Math for European Food Brands

For almost twenty years, exporting to India was something most European confectionery and biscuit brands filed under "someday." Import duties on processed food routinely ran 30 to 50 percent, on top of all the usual cost and complexity of getting a product onto shelves in a new country. That calculation just changed, and it changed a lot.

In January 2026, the European Union and India concluded negotiations on what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called "the mother of all trade deals." It's the largest trade agreement either side has ever signed, covering roughly two billion people and around a quarter of global GDP. Most of the headlines focused on cars and wine, but there's a detail in there that matters more if you make chocolate, biscuits or bakery products: India has agreed to eliminate or sharply cut tariffs on processed food imports from the EU, including confectionery, bread, pastry and chocolate, categories that are currently taxed at up to 30 to 33 percent.

If you've been sitting on the fence about India, this is worth paying attention to.

What's actually changing

In plain terms, here's what the deal does to import duties on European food:

• Confectionery, chocolate, bread, pastry and pasta: current tariffs of roughly 30 to 33 percent are set to be eliminated, either straight away when the deal takes effect or phased out over a set period.

• Olive oil: tariffs as high as 45 percent drop to zero over five years.

• Fruit juices and non alcoholic beverages: tariffs of up to 55 percent get reduced over a five year phase in.

• Wine: tariffs fall from around 150 percent toward roughly 20 percent over time.

For a category like premium biscuits or chocolate, a duty of 30 percent or more has historically made European products a hard sell against locally made alternatives at a similar price. Take that away, even gradually, and the pricing gap that's kept a lot of good European brands out of Indian retail starts to close.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President of the European Council António Luís Santos da Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Tuesday. (DPR PMO/ANI Photo via Reuters Connect)

Why it still makes sense to move now

You'd think the sensible move is to wait until the deal is actually in force before doing anything. In practice it's the opposite, for a fairly simple reason: building distribution in India takes time, and the tariff relief only really pays off once you already have shelf presence and buyer relationships in place when it lands.

FSSAI registration, labeling, customs classification, retailer negotiations, warehousing, building awareness with Indian consumers. None of that happens in a week. Brands that start that groundwork now, while the tariff advantage is on the horizon but not yet reflected in anyone's pricing, will be in a much stronger position when duties actually start coming down. Brands that wait until 2027 will be starting distribution and pricing conversations from zero, at the same time as everyone else who had the same idea.

There's a second reason too. Even without the trade deal, India's premium food and confectionery segment has been growing on its own, driven by rising urban incomes and a growing appetite for imported and premium products. The trade deal speeds up a trend that was already underway. It doesn't create it out of nowhere.

What the trade deal doesn't solve

Cutting tariffs solves the pricing problem. It doesn't solve the operational one, and that's where most European brands actually get stuck. Even at zero duty, you still need:

• FSSAI compliance and correct product registration

• A customs and logistics partner who knows Indian ports and paperwork

• Warehousing and cold chain infrastructure where relevant

• Retail relationships in a market that looks very different from one city to the next

This is the gap OnRoute India exists to close. We act as the export bridge between premium European food brands and the Indian market, working alongside a third generation Indian distribution partner with deep roots across Indian retail and FMCG, present in seven major cities and connected well beyond India's borders. In practice that means a European brand gets one accountable partner on the EU side, backed by real, already established execution on the ground in India: customs clearance, compliance, warehousing and retailer relationships that already exist.

The trade deal opens the door. Getting through it still takes a partner who's done it before.

Frequently asked questions

Is it currently cheaper to export chocolate or confectionery to India? Not yet. Current Indian import duties on confectionery remain in place, roughly 30 to 33 percent, until the India EU trade deal formally enters into force, which is expected in the first half of 2027.

When does the India EU trade agreement take effect? Negotiations concluded in January 2026. Formal signing is expected later in 2026, and the agreement needs ratification from both the EU and India before it enters into force, targeted for early to mid 2027.

Do I need a local partner to sell food products in India? In practice, yes. FSSAI compliance, customs clearance, warehousing and retail relationships all require in market expertise. Most successful European entrants work through an export agency and distribution partner rather than trying to go direct.

Which European food categories benefit most from the deal? Processed and packaged foods, including confectionery, chocolate, biscuits, bread, pastry, olive oil and fruit juices, see some of the largest tariff reductions, alongside wine and spirits on a longer phase in.

OnRoute India helps premium European food brands enter the Indian market, from first conversation to shelf. If your brand is exploring India, [get in touch] to talk through what a market entry could look like for you.