At 48,389 crore, basmati rice exports rise by 26% in 1 year

By Ikhlaq Singh Aujla

India’s basmati rice exports in the 2023-24 fiscal year (April-March) rose about 25.61% in terms of value in rupees as compared with the previous fiscal, according to data compiled by Kolkata-based Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), mainly on robust demand from the Middle East.

DGCIS data showed that the exports were higher by Rs 9,865.1 crore in 2023-24 compared with the 2022-23 fiscal year. In the 2023-24 fiscal, they stood at Rs 48,389.21 crore (nearly $ 5.74 billion), while in the 2022-23 fiscal, India exported the commodity worth about Rs 38,524.10 crore (nearly $ 4.79 billion).

The country exported about 52.42 LMT of basmati rice in 2023-24, about 6.81 LMT (about 14.95%) more than in 2022-23.

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics data, India exported basmati rice to 150 countries in 2023-24 while in the 2022-23 fiscal year, it had sold the commodity to 149 countries.

Saudi Arabia was the biggest importer of Indian basmati rice in quantity at about 10.98 LMT followed by Iraq and Iran at 8.24 LMT and 6.7 LMT, respectively. In 2022-23, Iran was the biggest buyer at 9.98 LMT; Saudi Arabia was second at 9.54 LMT, and Iraq was a distant third at 3.64 LMT.

The other importers in the top 10 countries include Yemen Republic (3.07 LMT), United Arab Emirates (3.08 LMT), USA (2.34 LMT), the United Kingdom (1.85 LMT), Kuwait (1.79 LMT), Oman (1.64 LMT) and Qatar (1.15 LMT).

In terms of value in rupees, Saudi Arabia was the biggest buyer paying Rs 10,391.12 crore followed by Iraq (Rs 7,349.53 crore), Iran (Rs 5,626.27 crore), Yemen (Rs 2,837.92 crore), UAE (Rs 2,766.55 crore) and the US (Rs 2,526.71 crore).

Other big importers of Indian basmati rice in terms of value include the UK (Rs 1,817.36 crore), Kuwait (Rs 1,671.16 crore), Oman (Rs 1,504.54 crore) and Qatar (Rs 1,031.19 crore).

This article has been republished from The Times of India.