Interestingly, the data showed that the export of non-basmati rice rose over 100%
According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry’s data, the exports of cereals rose from a level of Rs 32,591 crore ($4.58 billion) in the April-December period of FY20 to Rs 49,832 crore during the same period of FY21. This is a growth of 45.81 percent in dollar terms and 52.90 percent in rupee terms.
The share of export of cereals in rupee terms stood at 48.61 percent in the total export of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) products. Interestingly, the data showed that the export of non-basmati rice rose over 100 per cent.
During the April-December period under review, the exports of non-basmati rice showed a rise at Rs 22,856 crore ($3.06 billion) compared to Rs. 10,268 crore ($1.45 billion) reported during FY20. In dollar terms, the growth in exports was 111.81 percent and in rupee terms, it was 122.61 percent.
The share of export of non-Basmati rice in the total export of APEDA products stood at 22.32 percent. India exports non-Basmati rice to countries including the United Arab Emirates, Benin, Nepal, Guinea, Somalia, and many other countries in Asia, Europe and the United States.
Against the non-basmati variety, exports of Basmati rice rose at a slow rate (by 5.31 percent in rupee term and 0.36 percent in dollar terms) to Rs 22,038 crore ($2.94 billion) compared to Rs 20,926 crore ($2.93 billion) reported during the April-December period of previous fiscal.
The share of export of Basmati rice in the total export of products under the APEDA basket stood at 21.44 percent. The major countries for Basmati rice exports from India include Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and European Countries, etc.
Along with rice, the export of wheat grew by a whopping 456.41 percent (in Rupee term) to Rs 1,870 crore ($252 Million) compared to Rs 336 crore ($48 Million) reported during the first 9 months of the previous year.
The share of export of wheat in the total export of APEDA products was 1.84 per cent. The major export destinations for wheat include Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Bangladesh, among others.
Ashwin Bhadri, CEO, Equinox Labs, said, “In times like these, where globally the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted supply changes of many commodities, the huge spike in rice exports is commendable.”
Bhadri continues, “Full credit goes to the government for ensuring that exports of rice continue uninterrupted while taking prompt measures in terms of safety and hygiene, because of the health and operational hurdles posed by COVID-19.”