Grown traditionally in India, Pakistan, and Nepal, Basmati rice is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice. In 2019, India accounted for 65% of the total trade of basmati rice and this does not come as a surprise as many countries procure basmati rice from India. Owing to favorable climatic conditions, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Western Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir are the most favorable states for the production of basmati rice in India.
India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, mainly exports its famous top-grade basmati rice to countries in the Middle East and non-basmati rice to countries in the African and Asian continents. The country recently had to put restrictions on exports of non-basmati rice to calm domestic prices by ensuring its availability. The middle eastern countries of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen nearly account for about two-thirds of the Basmati Rice Exports from India.
India’s exports of premium basmati rice in 2022-23 are predicted to jump 15% over the previous year as key buyers in the Middle East would be building their inventories despite the price having jumped up by nearly a quarter. (exporters told Reuters Agency)
Reasons For Higher Exports
Higher basmati rice exports would help Indian farmers earn more for their produce by pushing paddy prices up to a record high. Vijay Setia, former president of the All India Rice Exporters Association in his statement notified “After the Ukraine conflict, buyers are afraid of a sudden supply disruption. Every buyer is trying to have enough stocks,”.
He said that India could export more than 4.5 million tonnes in the 2022/23 financial year starting on April 1, up 15 % from a year ago. The Trade Ministry’s data showed exports have risen by around 11% to 2.16 million tonnes in the first half of 2022-23. A sharp drop in freight charges from this
year’s peak was also prompting importers to buy more, Mr.Sethia further added. Following the current scenario, the farmers in India would aim to increase their production due to the higher returns from fulfilling orders of bulk exports of basmati rice.
Global Situation
Iran, traditionally the biggest buyer of Indian basmati rice, was purchasing actively in the past few months, but countries like Iraq and Saudi Arabia have been more active of late, said Anil Mittal, chairman and managing director of KRBL Ltd (KRBL.NS) (leading rice exporter). “Exports prices rose in the past few months, but demand is still there. Iran is not active but Saudi Arabia and Iraq bought 150,000 tonnes each last month,” Mittal further stated.
Export prices for the grain have jumped to over $1,450 per tonne from around $1,160 a year ago. Higher exports have lifted prices of traditional basmati paddy to a record 60,000 rupees per tonne in India, Mittal said.
India’s basmati rice production was expected to jump by around 20% after farmers expanded the area under the crop. Still, untimely rainfall in September and October capped the upside in the production, Mittal said. Due to the higher bulk basmati rice export orders and a sharp drop in freight charges amid standard production, we are yet to see the Indian Government’s policy in this regard.
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