India maintains dominance in global rice market

23-Jun-2026 11:42 AM

Hyderabad: Although the ongoing crisis in West Asia has led to an increase in war-risk surcharges, higher shipping costs, and some disruption in shipments—along with tensions in the Middle East—these factors have brought certain changes in the structure of global rice trade. However, India continues to retain its position as the leading rice-exporting country without significant difficulty.

India’s rice remains highly competitive in terms of pricing, and the country has a very large exportable surplus stock. In addition, it has a strong export infrastructure and well-established markets, which support sustained overseas demand. Several African countries prefer importing rice from India, mainly non-basmati varieties.

On the other hand, countries in West Asia, the Middle East, and the Gulf region import Indian basmati rice on a large scale. Although the Iran conflict caused some disruption in exports, India’s overall rice export performance has remained satisfactory despite these challenges.