After curbs, non-basmati rice exports fell sharper than basmati rice

Data shows that though initially non-basmati rice exports remained unaffected but it started dropping soon thereafter

Even as the Centre launched ‘Bharat’ rice priced at Rs 29 a kilogram across India on Tuesday, a data collated by traders and market participants showed that the government’s decision to curb exports of basmati and non-basmati rice from August last year has had an adverse impact on the latter, but not so much on basmati rice.

Last year, on August 26, the government imposed a 20 per cent import duty on parboiled rice and also a minimum export price (MEP) of $1,200 per tonne on basmati exports. Parboiled rice constituted almost 45 per cent of the total non-basmati

rice exports in FY23.

Data shows initially non-basmati rice exports remained unaffected, but started dropping soon thereafter.

Between August 26, 2023 and January 20, 2024 almost 3.17 million tonnes of non-basmati rice has been exported, which is 17.38 per cent less than the same period last year.

In contrast, basmati exports started dropping immediately after the minimum export price was imposed but recovered thereafter.

Between August 26, 2023 and January 20, 2024, around 2.12 million tonnes of basmati rice has been exported, which is 9.79 per cent more than the same period last year.

The MEP on basmati rice exports was brought down to $950 per tonne from $1,200 per tonne, two months after it was imposed, to boost shipments.