In the first two months of FY21, the Indian exports of non-basmati rice have jumped 52.5 percent to 11.13 lakh tones from 7.3 lakhs tonnes in the same period in FY20. According to the survey, Africa has been recorded as the major buyer of the non-basmati rice and the exporters are hoping that the volumes will increase further when Bangladesh starts importing this variety.
This year as the Thai rice prices have skyrocketed, Africa is now depending on India for the rice supply. BV Krishna Rao, the president of All India Rice Exporters Association, said that the non-basmati rice will do well this year. When the country export 8.64 million tonnes the Indian non-basmati rice exports will touch FY18 levels. In the next 2 years the exports of non-basmati rice fell down and in FY20 we had achieved the exports of 5.04 million tonnes. The reason for the drop of non-basmati rice was because that the government increased the minimum support price of paddy and farmers were not interested in this export, another reason why the exports went down is that the government had procured huge quantities of rice.
For the Indian basmati rice exports, Bangladesh will also open up opportunities. It can be either they will directly buy from private players or they will buy through the government-to-government scheme. Whatever it may be, it will provide a fillip to the country’s rice exports. The traders also said that the rice millers in Bangladesh were also demanding high prices for rice that they provide to the government warehouses. As the people are staying indoors due to the widespread of COVID-19 pandemic rice consumption has increased in Bangladesh. Suraj Agarwal CEO of the Tirupati Agri Trade said that eating out has stopped, this is the main reason for the increasing demand for rice in the country.
The import of rice from India is expected by the end of this week or early next week. From the Bangladesh government, Agarwal said the decision. Due to the lack of interest among millers and farmers to supply the cereal to the public warehouses amid the sluggish progress in the procurement of the rice and paddy, the Bangladesh food ministry is now considering the importing of rice. Until now the Bangladesh government food office could meet 20 percent of its paddy procurement target of 8 lakh tonnes. Within 31st August the target of paddy procurement is unlikely to be achieved.
