Non-Basmati rice exports up 123%

NEW DELHI: Non-basmati rice exports increased by 123% year-on-year in April-November industry bodies said.

Exporters are bullish about the next quarter as trade enquiries from Africa Middle East and South East Asian countries are pouring and companies have a strong order book.

India exported 7.02 MT of non-basmati rice in the first eight months of this financial year, up from 3.15 MT a year ago, earning Rs 19,780 crore against Rs 9,066 crore in the year-ago period, as per Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).


Exports can easily rise to over 10 million tonne this fiscal, BV Krishna, president of the Rice Exporters Association, said. "We are getting good trade enquiries and consumers are placing higher orders as they anticipate future lockdowns due to coronavirus. They also are worried about availability of quality rice and transportation costs," he said.

In November alone, non-basmati exports jumped by 159% to 0.89 MT over November 2019.

December to March will be the peak export season and we can ship close to a million tonne each month, Lakshya Aggarwal of KLA Exports said.