India’s rice exports decline by 7.5% to $11.53 billion due to West Asia crisis

Amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, leading to global supply disruption, India’s rice exports dipped 7.5 per cent to $11.53 billion in 2025-26. The dip is primarily led by the contraction in shipments to major destinations including the middle east countries

As per the commerce ministry data, the exports in March declined 15.36 per cent to $997.53 million.

Shipments to Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman have been impacted due to the war between US-Israel and Iran.

Notably, Iran is India’s top basmati rice export destination. The shipments are witnessing growing stress on order flows, payment cycles, and ship schedules due to the prevailing instability.

India is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of rice producing around 150 million tonnes of rice in 2024-25 from nearly 47 million hectares, accounting for about 28 per cent of global output.

In 2024-25, India exported 20.1 million tonnes of rice valued at $12.5 billion, reaching more than 172 countries.

Average yields have improved from 2.72 tonnes per hectare in 2014-15 to about 3.2 tonnes per hectare in 2024-25, driven by improved seed varieties, better agronomic practices, and expanded irrigation coverage.

As per reports, importers have conveyed their inability to honour existing commitments and remit payments to India, creating uncertainty for exporters.

In terms of overall exports, India exported goods worth $62.4 billion to economies linked to the Strait of Hormuz in 2024. Of this, only around $5.3 billion, or less than 10 percent, may face significant challenges in being redirected elsewhere.

Recently, India has allowed exports of basmati and non-basmati rice to some European ‌countries without ⁠an ⁠otherwise mandatory certificate of inspection by its export inspection agency for six months.

This article has been republished from The Statesman.