India rice traders want easing of export curbs as competition from Pakistan stiffens

Indian traders have asked the government to either scrap a minimum export price of US$950 per tonne on premium basmati rice or lower it to US$750 per tonne in anticipation of a bumper crop, All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) vice-president S Jain told This Week in Asia on Monday.

Presently, India allows only exports of basmati and parboiled varieties, subject to a 20 per cent export tax imposed last year to prevent any shortages in the domestic market amid fickle weather. It has banned exports of non-basmati or more common varieties.

India accounts for around 40 per cent of global rice shipments and exports to more than 150 countries. About 30 per cent of its shipments – or 12 per cent of total global trade of the commodity – were affected after New Delhi banned exports of white rice and broken varieties last July, except for shipments to address food-security concerns of other countries.

The export curbs were seen as a politically linked measure to curb inflation ahead of the national elections held earlier this year.