MUMBAI: China has started importing Indian rice for the first time in at least three decades due to supplies shortages and India’s offer of deeply discounted prices, Indian industry officials told Reuters.
India is the world’s largest rice exporter and China is the largest importer. Beijing imports about 4 million tons of rice a year, but has avoided purchases from India, citing quality problems.
The breakthrough comes at a time when political tensions between the two countries are high due to a border dispute in the Himalayas.
“For the first time, China has made rice purchases. It is possible that purchases will increase next year after seeing the quality of the Indian harvest,” said BV Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association.
Indian traders have been contracted to export 100,000 tonnes of broken rice for December-February shipments at around $ 300 per tonne, industry officials said.
Traditional Chinese suppliers, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Pakistan, have limited surplus supplies for export and were trading at least $ 30 per tonne more compared to Indian prices, according to Indian rice trade officials.
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