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Informist, Monday, Aug 5, 2024

By Sandeep Sinha

MUMBAI – India's basmati rice exports in Jan-Jun rose to an all-time high of 3.15 mln tn, surpassing the previous record of 2.90 mln tn set in the first six months of 2020, according to data analysed by Informist. Exports of the aromatic rice rose 27.3% on year in the first half of 2024 because of increased demand from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and the US. In the same period a year ago, India exported 2.54 mln tn of basmati rice.

In the first six months of 2024, India’s exports to Saudi Arabia rose 22.9% on year to 720,307 tn. Exports to Iraq rose 37.9% on year to 531,263 tn and exports to Yemen rose 34.3% on year to 186,965 tn. Exports to the US were up 24.9% on year at 126,563 tn, and exports to the UAE rose 18.8% on year to 179,935 tn. Exports to Iran, another major buyer, fell 7.2% on year to 407,752 tn.

The country's share in global basmati rice exports was 87.4% in Jan-Jun. The remaining share was with Pakistan. In June, India’s share of the global basmati rice trade fell to 83.6% from 87.4% in May, while Pakistan's share rose to 16.4% from 12.6% in May. The neighbouring country exported 94,675 tn of basmati rice in June, the highest for the current calendar year, according to data from the Pakistan government.

The value of India's basmati rice exports in Jan-Jun rose 19.6% on year to $3.42 bln, against $2.75 bln a year ago, the commerce ministry data showed. In the global market, the average realisation of Indian basmati rice in the first six months of the year was $1,058.90 per tn, down from $1,084.02 per tn a year ago, the data showed. 

In terms of top basmati rice importers, the realisation per tn exported to the US rose to $1,290.66 in Jan-Jun from $1,246.47 a year ago. The corresponding figure for Iran was up to $1,009.56 per tn from $990.66 a tn. The biggest drop in realisation per tn of aromatic rice was registered in Yemen, where it dropped nearly $32 per tn to $1,060.14. The UAE saw the second-biggest decline of $13.54 per tn to $1057.33 a tn. The realisation per tn exported to Iraq was down by $9.18 per tn to $1,045.66, and from exports to Saudi Arabia was down by $4.43 per tn to $1,120.44 in the first half of the calendar year.

"India’s basmati production was higher at 9.8 mln tn in 2023-2024. The major basmati varieties are PB 1121, PB 1718, and PB 1885, which account for 53% of the entire basmati production in the country. Punjab and Haryana were the key producers of aromatic rice at 39% and 37% respectively. So these are majorly contributing states," Hanish Kumar Sinha, agri-business researcher and trainer, said.

"In terms of export performance, the country exported 4.56 mln tn of basmati rice in the financial year 2022-23 and exports rose nearly 15% to 5.24 mln tn in 2023-2024, because of ongoing geopolitical concerns in West Asia," Sinha said. The basmati rice export prospect is very bright and in the current year, we are expecting basmati rice production on the higher side based on the current sowing data, he said.  End

US$1 = 83.85 rupees

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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