Arpita Mukherjee

The e-commerce moratorium, a major outcome of the Work Programme on E-commerce (WPEC) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has been one of the driving forces of the growth of cross-border e-commerce in the world. In place since 1998, it has been renewed at successive ministerial conferences (MC) until MC 14 held during March 26-31, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. A lack of consensus amongst members led to the lapse of not only the WPEC but also the moratorium.

India is known as the “Land of Spices”. In 2024-25, India produced 12.99 million tonnes of spices, accounting for a 45 per cent share in global production. Approximately 70 to 80 per cent of this is consumed in the domestic market, with food accounting for the largest end-use. In 2025, the Indian spice market for food was valued at around USD 5.15 billion. While spices are available in various forms for foods, whole and ground single spices have a market share of 63 per cent. Around 60-80 per cent of the entire spices market is in the informal sector. While there are concerns related to food safety and standards, and micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) are not able to scale up into the formal branded segment, various measures have been taken by the government to help formalise the sector and ensure food safety and standards.

As a major producer and exporter of spices, the country should aim to lead the world on food safety standards for these. But India must first get its domestic regulatory act together. Here's what needs to change.

It would be a mistake to assume that a free trade agreement automatically results in trade gains for Indian exporters. Exporters must work on productivity and reliability. They also need low-cost ways to comply with complex regulatory requirements abroad.

India is the world's leading rice producer, with production reaching 150 million tonnes in 2024-25, and the largest rice exporter, accounting for 29 per cent of global rice exports valued at USD 11.8 billion in 2024. Rice supports millions of smallholder farmers and is a major source of export earnings. The European Union is a strategically important high-value market, particularly for basmati rice, but rice has been excluded from tariff elimination under the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, maintaining duties of around 7.7 per cent and placing India at a price disadvantage against competitors such as Viet Nam, which benefits from preferential FTA access.

The India-UK comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) sets out a roadmap for easier cross-border trade by leveraging digital technologies. This should push India to quickly get its act together on various fronts.

This paper is authored by Rajesh Aggarwal, Shekhar Aiyar, Arpita Mukherjee, Nisha Taneja, ICRIER, New Delhi.

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