'Rice exports likely to dip 20% in FY20'

Mumbai: India's rice exports is expected to witness around 20 per cent decline this fiscal, due to heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and tighter trade norms, a report said on Thursday.

According to a report by the US-based trade finance company Drip Capital, export of rice has witnessed a significant decline across the world owing to heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East -- one of the biggest export market.

Following this, India's rice exports is likely to go down by 18-20 per cent in 2019-20, the report said.

"Exports so far are looking bleak with Iran, the biggest export market, seeing a 22 per cent fall in shipments. Other export markets like the UAE (33 per cent), Nepal (23 per cent), Yemen (2 per cent), Senegal (90 per cent) and Bangladesh (94 per cent) have also seen a fall in rice shipments from India," Drip Capital co-founder and co-CEO Pushkar Mukewar said.

On the other hand, exports to certain nations defied the broader trend and registered an increase. Saudi Arabia witnessed a 4 per cent rise, while for Iraq it was 10 per cent, Benin (8 per cent) and the USA (4 per cent), he added.

Meanwhile, the report revealed that Haryana is the top basmati rice exporting state in the country with an annual growth of 3 per cent between FY16 to FY19. The state has shipped $2,410 million in FY19 alone.

Gujarat is second biggest exporting state with shipments of $1,106 million in FY19.

Other major contributing states are Delhi, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, the report said.

The report further noted that rice being a kharif crop (August November) shows a clear seasonal pattern in exports as well.

The four months post-harvest (December March) see over 40 per cent of annual exports compared to the rest of the year, it said.