Agro Perspectiva

India Imposes Export Restrictions on Certain Types of Rice

13.09.2022 05:00 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — According to the report of the USDA Grain: World Markets and Trade (September 2022), India, the largest rice exporter, implemented policies on September 9 to restrict its exports. The government imposed a ban on exports of 100 percent broken rice (HS 100640) and also is applying a 20 percent tariff on paddy (100610), brown (100620), and white rice that is neither basmati nor parboiled rice (10063090). This is the first restriction that India has placed on its exports since it lifted its 3-year ban on non-basmati rice in 2011. Since that time, India has become the primary rice exporter, expanding its domination so that in 2021, India accounted for 41 percent of total global exports, larger than the next 4 exporters (Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and the United States) combined.

As a result of this ban, the forecast for total rice export has been cut to 20.3 million tons for 2022 and 20.0 million tons for 2023.

India’s exports of paddy rice, brown rice, non-basmati, non-parboiled regular white rice (HS 10063090) are now taxed at 20 percent. The largest of these categories is non-basmati, non-parboiled white rice, which it supplies mainly to Africa and neighboring countries. Especially over the past couple of years,

Indian prices have been at a significant discount compared to the other major exporters, making it an attractive option for low-income importing countries. As shown in the graph below, the 20 percent export tariff applied to the export quote for September 9 results in a price above most Asian exporters except for Thailand. The export tax was implemented with less than a day’s notice, leaving exporters scrambling.

India exports a variety of types of rice and this ban notably excludes basmati and parboiled rice. Basmati rice is a type of fragrant rice that commands a premium and is primarily exported to the Middle East, Europe, and North America. India’s basmati rice exports have averaged around 4.3 million tons annually.

India is the primary exporter with Pakistan as the main competitor. Parboiled rice is produced by steaming regular paddy rice under pressure and then milling it, resulting in different cooking characteristics favored among some parts of India, Bangladesh, parts of Africa, and Saudi Arabia. Since paddy rice can either be processed into regular white rice or parboiled rice, the new policy may encourage more shipments of parboiled, since it will not be taxed. However, over the past several years, India has seized an increasing share of global parboiled exports, shipping 4.1 million tons in the first 7 months of 2022, compared to 0.7 million tons from Thailand for the same period.

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