Updated: December 2, 2020 8:27:30 pm
A farmer harvests rice by hand in a field in Gaya district, Bihar, India, on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020 (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg).
China has started importing Indian rice after a two-year gap and has placed orders for the shipment of around 5,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice due to the competitive prices India offers compared to other nations, according to the Association of Exporters of China. Indian rice (AIREA).
India is the world’s leading rice exporter, while China is the largest importer. In 2006, China was granted access to the Indian rice market, but shipments were only made during fiscal year 2017-18.
China buys rice from India at a time of intensification of border tensions between the two nations.
“Although market access was granted in 2006, China imported around 974 tonnes of non-basmati rice in fiscal year 2017-18. Now, after an interval of two years, we have begun to receive inquiries… ”, AIREA Executive Director Vinod Kaul told PTI.
Less than 150 tons of basmati rice have been exported as of October 2020-21 fiscal year. In the past two months, China has placed orders for the shipment of around 5,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice called South Indian broken rice, he said.
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Broken rice is used to make noodles and in the wine industry. China has started to show interest in buying rice from India, Kaul said it is because the neighboring nation is facing a tight supply situation amid a likely drop in production and trade restrictions in the wake of COVID-19 from its other import destinations such as Thailand and Vietnam, he said. said.
Apart from that, India offers competitive prices compared to other nations in the world today, he added.
According to AIREA, India has exported 2.8 million tonnes of basmati rice and 6.1 million tonnes of non-basmati rice during the period from April to October of the current fiscal year.
In fiscal year 2019-2020, total exports of basmati rice reached a record 4 million tonnes and non-basmati rice at 5 million tonnes.
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