India's Basmati Rice Exports Price Might Increase Amid Red Sea Attacks

04 January 2024

Due to the constant attacks on various cargo ships and commercial vehicles passing through the Red Sea region, Indian shipping companies have rerouted the shipments containing one of India’s top exported cereals—Basmati Rice (HS Code 10063020). The Indian agencies and authorities have claimed that this rerouting of shipments containing the cereal can lead to the rise in prices of basmati rice to export to partner countries, and could affect exports, mainly to Middle Eastern and European countries.

India’s Basmati Rice Exports

India’s basmati rice exports in the past five years have fluctuated. The exports of basmati rice from India to its partner countries registered—$4.3 billion in 2018, followed by $4.6 billion in 2019, $4.3 billion in 2020, $3.4 billion in 2021, and $4.4 billion in 2022.

India’s top exporting partners for basmati rice are—Iran (24.4%), Saudi Arabia (20.2%), Iraq (7.4%), the United Arab Emirates (6.6%), Yemen (6.4%), the United States of America (5.2%), Kuwait (3.6%), the United Kingdom (2.6%), Jordan (2.4%), Oman (2.2%), Qatar (1.8%), and Canada (1.7%).

India’s Basmati Rice Exports To Europe

India’s basmati exports to Europe increased in 2022, following a decline in 2021. These exports to Europe have fluctuated in the past five years, registering—$216.2 million in 2018, $230.3 million in 2019, $309.5 million in 2020, $251.1 million in 2021, and $268.8 million in 2022.

The recent exports of India’s basmati rice to Europe in monthly trends of the year 2023 show these values: $35.2 million in January, $39.8 million in February, $52.9 million in March, $54.1 million in April, $44.6 million in May, $29.4 million in June, $37.3 million in July.

India’s Basmati Rice Exports To Middle East

India’s basmati rice exports to the Middle East have fluctuated in the past five years, registering—$3.6 billion in 2018, $3.8 billion in 2019, $3.4 billion in 2020, $2.6 billion in 2021, and $3.5 billion in 2022. The exports of Indian basmati rice to the Middle East surged in 2022 falling in 2021.

India’s basmati rice exports to the Middle East in the recent months of 2023 have shown these values: $375.4 million in January, $366.7 million in February, $377.5 million in March, $347.3 million in April, $331.9 million in May, $295 million in June, $363.5 million in July.

The reroute of Indian shipments containing basmati rice through the Red Sea allows for a convenient transfer of goods from India to its top exporting partners such as the United States of America and the European countries.

The Indian suppliers and authorities have claimed that due to the frequent bans on different commodities that are farm-grown including wheat, rice, and sugar, the exports of other farm commodities are important to neutralize the ban effects on the export values.