India's status as the largest exporter of rice is likely to remain intact
15-Oct-2024 05:28 PM
New Delhi. India has remained the largest exporter of rice in the world for the last 12-13 years and will remain so in the future as it is far ahead of the second and third largest exporting countries - Thailand and Vietnam.
According to the available data, during 2023-24, about 165 lakh tonnes of rice was exported from India, while 82 lakh tonnes from Thailand, 76 lakh tonnes from Vietnam, 50 lakh tonnes from Pakistan,
26.75 lakh tonnes from America, 22 lakh tonnes from China, 19.50 lakh tonnes from Cambodia, 18 lakh tonnes from Myanmar, 13 lakh tonnes from Brazil and 8.50 lakh tonnes of rice was shipped from Uruguay.
As the Indian government has completely opened up the export of non-basmati white rice, halved the export duty on sella rice and abolished the minimum export price of basmati rice, Indian rice exports are expected to grow rapidly in the coming months.
This is likely to impact the performance of other exporting countries as Indian rice is available at competitive prices. Domestic rice production is expected to be encouraging during the current Kharif season due to an increase in paddy area and heavy monsoon rains.
The increase in production will increase the exportable stock of rice and lead to an increase in shipments. The government already has adequate stocks of rice while government procurement of new paddy has also started.
Although China is the leader in rice production, India has overtaken it far ahead on the export front. As far as basmati rice is concerned, India meets 80 per cent of the global market requirement while the remaining 20 per cent is exported from Pakistan. In recent years,
rice exports from India have increased tremendously and it has left other exporting countries so far behind that it has become almost impossible for it to reach India.
Only if there is a complete ban on exports from India, other countries can overtake it. The traditional markets of India's white rice which have been captured by other countries for the last one year will now have to be ousted from there because it is difficult for them to survive in front of cheap Indian rice.
Of course, Indian exporters will have to face some challenges and obstacles but they are global problems which are likely to affect all countries. Basmati rice exports rose to a top level of 52.40 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.