Facing African hurdles, Indian rice exports value down 10% in FY26

A slack performance in the African region dragged Indian exports by over 10 per cent in value, though the overall volume was up 6.5 per cent in the 2025-26 financial year.

Data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) showed that while a little over 15 million tonnes (mt) of non-basmati rice was exported, the value was down to $5.86 billion compared with $6.53 billion in 2024-25.

Shipments, in particular, were lower to West, Central Africa and the ASEAN region, while they were up to South Asia, East Africa, West Asia and other South African countries.

“A combination of factors was behind the slack shipments to the African region,” said New Delhi-based exporter Rajesh Paharia Jain.

India’s policy uncertainty, foreign exchange shortages in African countries, stronger competition from Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan, disruption in freight and weaker buyer sentiments due to huge inventories contributed to this, he said.

S Chandrasekaran, a New Delhi-based trade analyst, said some of the African countries had bought huge quantities of rice during 2024-25 after India lifted the ban on rice exports in 2024. They were holding the stocks last fiscal.

India curbed rice exports from 2022 after unseasonal rains and El Nino affected paddy production.

Jain said countries such as Nigeria, Senegal, and Benin faced a severe shortage of US dollars, while some buyers sought trade in their local currencies. Indian exporters rejected it.

“Delays in contracts and reduction in fresh purchase orders hurt Indian exports,” he said.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), in its “Grain: World Markets and Trade” report this month, said India will continue to account for 40 per cent of global trade, with the Philippines, Vietnam, and China remaining the top importers.

For the 2026-27 season (September 2026-August 2027), India is projected to exports 24.5 million tonnes (mt) of basmati and non-basmati rice.

Though rice prices in the global market have rebounded to a two-year high, India is the most competitive at $350 a tonne for 5 per cent broken. It is at least $40 a tonne lower than Pakistan, $60 than Vietnam and $145 than Thailand for the same grade.