Non-basmati rice exports grew 27 per cent to touch $6.115 billion in the financial year 2021-22, from $4.799 billion the previous year. Since FY2013-14, non-basmati rice exports have grown by an astounding 109 per cent.

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), India exported rice to over 150 countries in 2021-22. Shipments to 76 countries exceeded $1 million, indicating the diversification in rice exports over the years.

Non-basmati rice was the top forex earner among all agri-commodities during 2021-22, the Commerce Ministry said in a release.

Highlighting the historic achievement, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, tweeted that the Modi government’s policies helped farmers gain access to global markets, besides ensuring food security.

“In collaboration with our foreign missions, we have coordinated development of logistics as well as focus on production of quality produce, which has boosted India’s rice exports prospects,” M Angamuthu, Chairman, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), said.

West African country Benin is one of the major importers of non-basmati rice from India. Other destination countries include Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Cote D’ Ivoire, Togo, Senegal, Guinea, Vietnam, Djibouti, Madagascar, Cameroon, Somalia, Malaysia, Liberia and UAE.

India’s thrust on expanding port handling infrastructure, development of value chain involving key stakeholders, and exploring new markets in the last couple of years have led to the spike in rice exports, the release said.

Robust global demand

Notwithstanding the logistical challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, India continues to expand its rice exports footprint in the African, Asian and European Union markets, thus having the largest share in the global rice trade. The robust global demand also helped India’s growth in rice exports.

The major rice producing states are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Assam, and Haryana.

As per the Second Advance Estimates for 2021-22, rice production during 2021-22 is estimated at 127.93 million tonnes, which is 11.49 million tonnes more than the last five years’ average production of 116.44 million tonnes.

Notably, India is the second-largest rice producer after China. The record exports would enable rice producers to reduce their stocks and fetch better returns for farmers. The significant rise in agri-exports is a testimony of the government’s commitment to increase farmers’ income, the release added.