Global rice shortage looms as top exporter India’s supply woes worsen amid Red Sea attacks
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Exports of premium Indian basmati rice last month were half of what they were a year ago, with traders blaming freight rates that have doubled following a series of attacks on commercial ships by Iran-backed Houthi militants. India, the world’s top rice exporter, accounts for around 40 per cent of global rice shipments and exports to more than 150 countries. About 30 per cent of its shipments – or 12 per cent of total global trade – were affected after New Delhi in July banned exports of white rice and broken varieties, barring exceptions to address other nations’ food-security concerns. India’s exports of non-basmati varieties are also being affected by the limited quantities available to private traders, as well as the long shipping times and more expensive freight costs to parts of Africa and other places. Looming rice shortages could also be exacerbated by lower production in China and Indonesia due to dry weather from El Nino. In Southeast Asia, India’s lower rice shipments are likely to affect the Philippines and Malaysia the most, according to Ravi Khetarpal, executive secretary of Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Institutions, who added that Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Senegal in West Africa would also be hit hard. Thailand and Vietnam may look to fill the supply vacuum left by India as they are the next largest exporters. India’s rice exports declined 47 per cent between August and November from the same period in 2022. Concerns about food shortages will grow the longer India continues to restrict exports.
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