India exports 2.99 million tonnes of non-basmati rice from April to July. A drop in Thai rice production increases India’s rice exports by 68% as against the corresponding time previous year.
Increase in Non-Basmati Exports
India recorded an increase of 1.78 million tonnes in the first four months of this financial year from a year ago. Also, the country earned foreign exchange of up to Rs 8,903 crore as against Rs 4,816 crore as compared to the same period of fiscal last year. Further, BV Krishna, president of the Rice Exporters Association, said that they are expecting non-basmati exports to remain healthy, reaching 7 million tonnes in FY21.
Thai Rice Exporters Association Reduces Export Target
Vinod Kaul, executive director, All India Rice Exporters Association that Africa is the largest purchaser of non-basmati rice this year. Also, a decrease in the production of Thai rice has put India in an advantageous position with Indian rice being USD 100 cheaper. Further, a resilient currency has made Thai rice more expensive. Citing this, the Thai Rice Exporters Association has slashed its export target for 2020 by 13% to 6.5 million tonnes.
India Awaits Bangladesh’s Reply on Increased Import Duty on Rice
Suraj Agarwal, CEO of Tirupati Agri Trade stated they are expecting to hear from Bangladeshi officials soon regarding import duty. Further, he mentioned that the nation should bring down the import duty on rice from 55% to 18% since its domestic production has dropped drastically. Besides, the floods have washed away nearly 100,000 hectares of crops, raising the retail prices by 31%.
Increase in Container Cost
Exporters have raised concerns about an almost 50% increase in the cost of containers from $1,200 to $1800. Rao highlighted that increasing corona cases had hit the availability of labourers required to load and unload products.
In all, the shortage of containers due to the lower import of products from China is troubling the exporters.