India prohibits export of non-basmati white rice

India prohibits export of non-basmati white rice

NEW DELHI: India has prohibited export of non-basmati white rice with immediate effect, according to a government notice on Thursday, after a late start to seasonal monsoon rains hurt the crop, raising fears of a shortfall in production. Heavy rainfall in northern parts of India over the last few weeks has also damaged newly planted crops in states including Punjab and Haryana, and many farmers have had to replant. India accounts for more than 40 per cent of world rice exports, which amounted to 55.4 million metric tonnes in 2022. India’s rice shipments reached a record 22.2 million tonnes in 2022, more than the combined shipments of the world’s next four biggest exporters of the grain - Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United States. India exports rice to more than 140 countries. Key buyers of Indian non-basmati rice include: Benin, Bangladesh, Angola, Cameroon, Djibouti, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Nepal. Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia mainly buy premium basmati rice from India. India exported 17.86 million tonnes of non-basmati rice in 2022, including 10.3 million tons of non-basmati white rice. In September 2022, India banned exports of broken rice and imposed a 20 per cent duty on exports of various