India likely to export 24 million tonnes rice in 2025-26, says USDA

USDA said rice production in India for 2025 is forecast at a 10th consecutive record, but the increase will be moderated by a decline in harvested area

India is likely to  export around 24 million tonnes of rice in the 2025-26 marketing year, thus cornering around 40 per cent of the market share, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

The USDA follows a marketing year, which starts in October and ends in September, unlike the Indian financial year that runs from April to March. 

Though the US agency did not explicitly say so, the optimism about India’s rice exports in 2025-26 came against the backdrop of bulging foodgrain stocks which as on April 27 were estimated to be almost 66.16 million tonnes (wheat and