Massive drop of 34 percent in rice exports in the first quarter

02-Jul-2024 12:43 PM

New Delhi. As compared to last year, the total export of rice from India during the first quarter of the current year i.e. April-June 2024 fell by 34 percent to 32 lakh tonnes. Under this, the export of non-basmati white (raw) rice fell by 78 percent to about 3 lakh tonnes,

the export of broken rice (broken rice) fell by 8 percent to 3 lakh tonnes and the export of sela rice fell by 11 percent to 15 lakh tonnes. There was better shipment of Basmati rice and its export increased by 16 percent to 11 lakh tonnes.

It is worth noting that the export of broken (100 percent broken) rice from India has been banned since September 2022 and the export of non-basmati white rice since July 2023, but its shipment can be done at the government level.

In August 2023, the government imposed an export duty of 20 per cent on non-Basmati Sela rice, which is still in place.

During the entire period (April-March) of the financial year 2023-24, a total of 157 lakh tonnes of rice was exported from India, which included shipments of 23.60 lakh tonnes of white rice, 5.45 lakh tonnes of broken rice and 75.70 lakh tonnes of Sela rice. The remaining exports were of Basmati rice.

Earlier, in the financial year 2022-23, rice exports had increased to a peak level of 218 lakh tonnes. It is worth noting that India is the world's leading exporter and second largest producer of rice. India's share in the global export market of rice is close to 40 percent.

In July last year, when the government announced a ban on the commercial export of non-Basmati white rice, there was a stir in the whole world and the global market price of that rice fell tremendously. Later, the government announced its export quota for some countries. There was a relatively less increase in the price of Sela rice.