India-US Deal
Indian rice exporters see shipments to US rising on improved tariff parity
This story was originally published at 13:41 IST on 3 February 2026
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NEW DELHI – Indian Rice Exporters' Federation expects more shipments to the US after Washington indicated it would cut its reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18% from 25%. This would restore export parity in rice with key competing origins such as Thailand and Pakistan, the federation said in a release Tuesday.
Late on Monday, US President Donald Trump said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to replace India's Russian crude imports with oil from the US and potentially Venezuela. Modi did not specify this in his post.
"The trade is also expecting that, in view of public statements by US authorities, the additional penalty being discussed in relation to India's purchase of Russian oil may be waived," the federation said. If confirmed, India's effective tariff burden would fall sharply from "the current elevated levels to 18%, restoring parity with key competing origins such as Thailand and Pakistan, where competitor nations are currently tariffed at around 19%," it added.
Improved tariff parity is likely to attract stronger demand and result in higher offtake across basmati and non-basmati rice varieties. India is set to have a record rice production of about 149 million tonnes with ample exportable surplus, the federation said.
In August, the White House imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods – a 25% reciprocal tariff and 25% punitive tariff.
However, India's rice exports to the US rose even after duties were sharply hiked to 50% from the initial 10%, underscoring the demand and appeal of Indian rice, the federation said. India's rice exports rose 6.3% on year to 22,668 tonnes in September, 28.4% to 29,015 tonnes in October, and 11.2% on year to 24,156 tonnes in November, the federation said.
"This trend reinforces the federation's view that India's competitiveness is structurally strong, and that tariff parity will translate quickly into higher volumes and improved price positioning. During Apr-Nov, India's basmati exports to US were 199,558 tonnes valued at $201.13 million, while non-basmati exports were 40,960 tonnes valued at $32.71 million, the federation said.
Share of some rice-exporting companies rose on the back of a potential reduction in US tariffs, with KRBL gaining 4.6%, LT Foods Ltd. jumping 14.5%, and AWL Agri Business rising 1.2% on the National Stock Exchange. End
US$1 = INR 90.23
Reported by Afra Abubacker
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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