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Informist, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024

 

By Sandeep Sinha

 

MUMBAI – India’s basmati rice exports in August fell to their lowest level in 11 months at 404,820 tonnes, according to data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics accessed by Informist. August is typically a weak month for basmati rice exports. However, exports of the aromatic rice in Jan-Aug rose 19.3% on year to 4.02 million tonnes, a record high, surpassing the previous record of 3.65 million tonnes set in the first eight months of 2020.

 

"We are now at the fag end of the season and the new season (harvest) will start very soon. Therefore, obviously, exports will slow down. You can't expect the same quantity of export every month," G. Chandrashekhar, commodity market expert and policy commentator, said.

 

In August, exports of basmati rice to Yemen tumbled 56.1% on year to 9,274 tonnes, exports to the US fell 7% on year to 22,730 tonnes, and exports to Iraq were down 4.3% on year at 69,683 tonnes. Exports to the United Arab Emirates slipped 3.3% on year to 19,725 tonnes and exports to Saudi Arabia eased 0.7% on year to 85,920 tonnes, according to the data. In contrast, exports to Iran surged 707% on year to 42,939 tonnes, from 5,319 tonnes in August 2023. In the same month last year, India exported 400,718 tonnes of basmati rice.

 

In August, India's share of global basmati rice exports fell to 80.9% from 83.8% in July, with Pakistan accounting for the rest. Pakistan exported an all-time high of 95,646 tonnes of basmati rice in August, up from 91,303 tonnes in July, according to data from the country's government. For Jan-Aug, India's share in global basmati rice exports fell to 86.2% from 86.9 in Jan-Jul.

 

"Our basmati exports will pick up. Our exports in the months of September, October, and November will take care of whatever ground we have lost," said Vijay Setia, an exporter based in Karnal, Haryana. "In basmati rice, we have an edge over Pakistan and definitely our exporters will bring more revenue and more sales."

 

Setia saw little to no impact of the worsening conflict in West Asia on basmati rice exports. "Everybody has to eat rice and what I am looking at is these countries at war, they are importing more rice," he explained. "Maybe they are trying to ensure their food security.”

 

Echoing a similar view, Chandrashekhar said, "Basmati exports will definitely recover. There is also a certain seasonality in exports. For example, next year, Ramzan will come early. So, 2-3 months before that, demand will start from West Asia and so we don't have to be deeply concerned about a slowdown in exports."

 

In value terms, India's basmati rice exports in Jan-Aug rose 17.8% on year to $4.33 billion from $3.68 billion a year ago, according to data from the commerce ministry. In the global market, the average realisation of Indian basmati rice in the first eight months of the year was $1,076.72 per tonne, down from $1,089.42 per tonne in the corresponding period last year, the data showed. 

 

The average realisation of Indian basmati rice exports in August was $1,044.67 per tonne, down from $1,125.70 per tonne a year ago, the data showed. Pakistan's basmati rice export realisation in August was $1,046.35 per tonne, compared with $1,184.63 per tonne a year ago.  End

 

US$1 = INR 83.97

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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