US Tariff Hits Punjab’s Basmati Rice and Textile Exports

28-Aug-2025 10:59 AM

Chandigarh. The imposition of 50 per cent import duty on Indian products in the US is likely to adversely affect the activities of Punjab's exporters.

Exporters of Basmati rice, textile products, auto parts and leather products are finding their future uncertain. These products have been exported from Punjab to the US on a large scale, which is now in serious danger.

If the export of the above products is blocked and the exporters are not able to keep their business at normal level, then the financial problems of its producers / exporters in Punjab will increase and there may be a sharp decline in production there.

A leading firm in the textile industry, which exports products worth more than Rs 3000 crore to the US, is currently assessing and analysing the entire situation.

The company's chairman says that the US tariff may have a profound impact on the export of its products. In fact, the MSME category entrepreneurs of Punjab are already having to do business on very low margins and they will not be able to bear the burden of 50 per cent tariff. As a result, export of its products to the US will stop.

As far as Basmati rice is concerned, its exporters will also have to struggle hard to send their goods to the US because the main rival supplier country - Pakistan - has imposed a very low tax on the product.

The Vice President of Punjab Rice Exporters Association says that global uncertainty has increased the crisis for Basmati rice exporters, while the US tariff will increase the difficulty of Indian exporters even more.

India still has an exportable stock of about 5 lakh tonnes of rice. About 3 lakh tonnes of Basmati rice is exported to the US. Production is expected to increase by 10 percent in the coming season. In this way, the availability of Basmati rice will increase by 15-16 lakh tonnes, which may keep pressure on its prices in the coming months.