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Informist, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025

 

By Sandeep Sinha

 

MUMBAI – India's basmati rice exports in 2024 are likely to have hit all-time highs both in terms of volume and value, industry players and experts said. Exports of the commodity last year are estimated at 5.6-5.7 million tonnes, surpassing the previous record of 5 million tonnes set in 2020.

 

Higher demand from major importers, geopolitical tensions in West Asia, and removal of the minimum export price for basmati rice contributed to the growth in exports. "There has been a lot of buying in November-December from West Asia, which may go higher in January as they stock up ahead of Ramadan beginning in March," Prem Garg, national president of the Indian Rice Exporters Federation, told Informist.

 

India exported 4.94 million tonnes of basmati rice in the first 10 months of 2024, data from the commerce ministry showed. The period between November and March is traditionally strong for basmati rice exports, and trade estimates pegged exports at 380,000-410,000 tonnes in November and 370,000-390,000 tonnes in December.

 

"There is demand for basmati rice and our prices are quite competitive. More importantly, our rupee is slightly weaker than it was a year ago, which therefore makes exports more competitive. We've had a good monsoon and good production of basmati rice," said G. Chandrashekhar, a commodity expert and policy commentator. This trend in exports should continue for another three months, he said.

 

The value of basmati rice exports in the first 11 months of 2024 already surpassed the previous all-time high of $5.42 billion hit in 2023, an analysis of commerce ministry data showed. India exported $5.63 billion worth of basmati rice till November, and the total for 2024 may touch $6 billion, experts said.

 

India produces 75% of the world's basmati rice, according to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. In 2023, APEDA had pegged basmati output at 9.85 million tonnes. The Rice Exporters Federation has pegged kharif basmati rice production in 2024 15% higher than last year because of above-normal southwest monsoon rainfall.

 

The country's share in global basmati rice exports in Jan-Oct was 86.5%, with Pakistan accounting for the rest.

 

Garg said that since the ban on non-basmati rice exports was done away with, India has exported 2 million tonnes of rice per month, of which basmati exports account for about 20%. The government on Sept. 27 allowed the export of non-basmati white rice, which was earlier banned due to rising domestic prices.

 

West Asian countries account for over 75% of the total basmati rice exports from India. Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the biggest importers, both in value and volume terms. In Jan-Oct, basmati rice exports to Saudi Arabia were at 1.06 million, up 27.4% on year, and exports to Iraq were at 782,212 tonnes, up 42.7% on year. During the same period, exports to Yemen nearly doubled to 283,890 tonnes and those to the United Arab Emirates were at at 288,242 tonnes, up 27.7% on year. Basmati rice exports to the US were at 217,198 tonnes, up 19.1% on year.

 

Basmati rice exports account for over 23% of India's total agricultural produce exports, according to APEDA.  End

 

US$1 = INR 85.94

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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