Basmati rice becomes India’s top exporting commodity

The Dollar Business Bureau 

Basmati rice has again become the top commodity to be exported from India. The popular variety of rice overcame the exports of buffalo meat to take the position of the top most exporting commodity in the April-June quarter of 2017-18. 

For years, Basmati rice had been the major export commodity of the country. However, since 2014-15, buffalo meat had too over the former’s position. 

According to reports, the reason was that all new orders were suspended earlier by Iran, which consumes more than a fourth of India’s exports Basmati rice to the world. 

During its harvesting season, Iran generally suspends rice import orders. According to reports, this year Iranian traders have continued to import Basmati rice even in the harvesting season. 

Basmati rice exports increased to 1.26 million tonnes in the said quarter from 1.18 million tonnes in the same period a year ago.  

The average realisation of Basmati surged 28% to $1,009 per tonne this year compared to $787 per tonne last year. 

Basmati rice exports from India increased to Rs.8,168 crore during the April-June period as compared to Rs.6,196 crore in the same quarter last year, as per the estimates by Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). 

The other factor for Basmati rice taking the top position in the country’s exports is the drop in the buffalo meat exports. Buffalo meat exports declined to 279,409 tonnes in the quarter of April-June this year from 280,869 tonnes in the same quarter last year. 

Despite the drop in exports, the revenue from buffalo meat exports increased marginally to $849 million (Rs.5,473 crore) in the April-June quarter from $823 million (Rs.5,445 crore) in the corresponding period last year. 

Exporters of buffalo meat faced supply issues when the Government banned the sales of animal, on which the Supreme Court put stay after a few weeks.