Rice market at risk of continued difficulties

India’s exports of premium basmati rice were half of what they were a year ago in January, traders said, as freight rates doubled following a series of attacks on commercial vessels by Houthi forces. Rising tensions in the Middle East, with Houthi forces attacking US and other targets in the Red Sea, have disrupted global shipping.

“The Red Sea issue is escalating. There is no quick solution, despite the US intervention to stop the Houthi attacks. Everyone is in a wait-and-see mode and exporting only limited quantities,” said Vijay Setia, former president of the All India Rice Exporters Association.

The Middle East is an important market for India’s basmati rice exports, but Mr Setia said shipping times from India to the region had increased by three or four weeks after the outbreak of violence in the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, India's exports of other rice varieties are also being affected by limited quantities available to traders, as well as long shipping times and higher shipping costs to parts of Africa and elsewhere, said Prem Garg, president of the Rice Exporters Federation of India.