Market Trends of India Rice Industry
Increasing Demand for Indian Rice
India’s high production capacities have made it gain high export potential, supplying rice to over 120 countries. Also, high domestic stocks and low local prices have allowed the country to offer rice at cheaper prices in the global market over the past few years. The country's rice exports in 2022 crossed over 22 million metric tons, more than the combined exports of the next four biggest exporters worldwide, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and the United States, with 19.2 metric tons in 2022 as per the ITC Trade Map.
As rice is an important staple food for over 3 billion people, the demand for Indian rice has increased, making many countries depend on Indian rice to meet their food security needs. Specific rice varieties in India, such as basmati, are known to be among the best varieties of rice in the world. They are known for their sleek, slender, tapering grains with unique aroma and taste and their grain elongation quality upon cooking. Exporting this premium variety from India has a significant share in the global basmati export market.
Enhancing Production Capacities
India is one of Asia-Pacific's top 10 rice-producing countries, endowed with a wet environment suitable for rice cultivation. Rice-based farming is the main economic activity for hundreds of millions of rural farmers in the country, with major rice varieties grown in India, including Ambemohar Rice, Kalanamak Rice, Navara Rice, Palakkadan Matta Rice, and Joha Rice.
India is well-known for both basmati and non-basmati rice production. There was an increase of over 15 million metric tons in total rice production during 2019-2022, reaching over 22 million metric tons in 2022, and it is projected to grow further due to the wider adoption of high-yielding rice varieties in the country. The growing demand for rice from the country's growing population further fuelled the increasing production. As per the World Bank, the total population in India was 1.41 billion in 2021, which increased to 1.42 billion in 2022.
In addition to this, favorable monsoons, the rising number of rice processing industries, and government support have positively affected rice production in the country in the past few years. For instance, in 2022, the Government of India approved the distribution of fortified rice across government schemes in the Indian States.
