India's rice exports in 2021 totaled 21.4 million mt, up by 46% on the year and a new record, according to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.
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Register NowBangladesh was the largest buyer of Indian rice in 2021 at 2.48 million mt, followed by Nepal, Benin and China.
India exported 1.97 million mt of rice in December, up by 31% year on year and by 33% month on month.
Non-Basmati exports rose by 36% on year to 1.63 million mt, while Basmati exports increased by 3% to 343,346 mt. This reflects the competitiveness of India's non-Basmati exports throughout December amid kharif crop arrivals, especially for parboiled and broken rice.
Nepal was the top importer of non-Basmati rice at 211,595 mt, with exports to Benin, Sri Lanka, and China also particularly strong. Iran was the largest importer of Basmati rice, followed by Saudi Arabia.
December was the only month in 2021 when monthly Basmati exports were higher on year. Basmati exports had been hampered by high container freight costs and low container availability, but new crop arrivals and the lifting of Iran's seasonal import ban in November encouraged fresh sales.