72 countries & counting, India looks to hit new record in rice exports. But there’s a flip side

and non-basmati rice are expected to jump 16 percent to 23.5 million tonnes from 20.2 million tonnes in 2024-25. Export volumes are expected to cross the previous high of 22.35 million tonnes in 2022-23, marking a turnaround from the slump of 2023-24, when rice exports fell to 16.35 million tonnes after government-imposed trade restrictions on certain varieties of non-basmati rice to safeguard domestic supplies amid soaring global prices. However, once the restrictions were lifted last year, exports surged once again, growing 23.4 percent to 20.2 million tonnes in 2024-25, according to data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), a government organisation responsible for compiling India’s trade statistics and commercial information. Exporters believe this momentum will continue and potentially push exports to 30 million tonnes by 2026-27, a level India has never seen before. “In the current fiscal year, rice exports are likely to grow by 16 ...