Curries to India... the latest Marks & Spencer line

There was shipping coal to Newcastle, then selling sand to the Arabs. The latest bizarre deal, which has been pulled off by Marks & Spencer, is sending curry to India.

It is selling its "Made in Britain" curry sauces and a canned curry in the M&S food hall in Delhi - one of 12 stores the British retailer has in India.

The company insists that its British curry will not offend Indian traditionalists, even though the Creamy Tikka marinade on sale in Delhi is made in Littleborough, Lancashire, and the canned mild chicken curry is from Chichester in Sussex.

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An M&S spokesman said: "Our Indian ranges are developed by top Indian chefs.

"Many of the spices we use we have sourced from India, while our cooking process replicates the traditional stages of Indian cooking."

Industry experts back M&S's boldness. Analyst Bryan Roberts told Retail Week magazine: "There's a lot of potential there.

"The Indian consumer has proved to be very aspirational and a well-regarded brand such as M&S should prove extremely popular."