India: Export Tax Hampering Basmati Rice Shipments

Basmati rice exports from India have come under a cloud following the Indian government's decision to impose an INR 8, 000 PMT export tax.

The sudden imposition of the export tax has raised the price of Indian basmati rice by around $200 PMT in the international market, which many buyers are unwilling to pay.

 India, the world's largest exporter of the high-value aromatic basmati rice, annually ships around 1.2 million to 1.3 million MT of basmati rice mostly to Gulf nations and Europe.
 
Basmati rice accounts for around 1% of India's total annual rice production of over 95 million MT.