Amid hopes for record production, India’s rice exports jump by nearly 86% in October

On September 27, the government removed the 20 per cent export duty on Non-Basmati White rice, and halved export duty on three other categories of rice. The duty on ‘rice in the husk (paddy or rough)’, ‘husked (brown) rice’, and ‘parboiled rice’ was reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. It, however, further reduced the duty to nil on October 22.

With a jump in October, the overall rice export has increased by 5.27 per cent to $6,171.35 million during the first seven months (April-October) of the current financial year 2024-25, as compared to $5,862.23 million in the corresponding period last fiscal year. Till the end of September, this year, India’s overall rice exports ($5,120.43 million) were 3.33 per cent lower compared to $5,296.58 million during the first half of the last financial year.

What figures say about India’s rice export

India is the second largest producer and the biggest exporter of rice. India, along with China, accounts for over half of the world’s rice production. China, however, is also the biggest consumer of rice, leaving little for exports.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), India accounted for 33 per cent (17 million tonne) of the world’s total rice exports (53 million tonne) during the calendar year 2023. In 2022, before the ban on Non-Basmati White Rice shipments, India accounted for about 40 per cent of the total rice exports (56 million tonne) in the world. Two east Asian countries — Thailand and Vietnam — are the two main competitors of India in the global rice market.

India put restrictions on rice exports amid a marginal dip in rice production and the looming threat of an erratic monsoon last year. With its granaries full and rice production during the ongoing Kharif season (2024-25) estimated to reach a record high of 119.93 million tonne — 6.67 million tonne (5.89 per cent) higher as compared to the last year’s output of 113.26 million tonne — the government has now eased the rice shipments.

India’s rice exports are broadly categorised into basmati and non-basmati rice. The non-basmati rice category includes six subcategories — rice in husk of seed quality; other rice in husk; husked (brown) rice; rice parboiled; non-basmati white rice; and broken rice. Basmati accounts for almost one third of India’s total rice export. In the financial year 2023-24, Basmati and non-basmati rice exports stood at 52.42 lakh tonne and 111.16 lakh tonne, respectively.