British rice industry fears trade pact with India will destroy local mills

A £1 billion ($1.2 billion) corner of the UK economy is fearing for its future as Britain and India close in on a long-awaited free-trade agreement.

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British rice millers such as Tilda Ltd and Veetee Rice have thrived for decades by importing low-tariff unmilled brown rice from the likes of India and Pakistan and "polishing" the grains into the white product loved by UK consumers.

But with India pressing for tariffs on white rice to be slashed, and little feedback from British trade officials, concerns are mounting for an industry that employs more than 3,000 people at 16 mills and processing plants scattered from Kent in southern England to Yorkshire in the north.