Country witnesses rise in rice export to 9 countries

New Delhi: India’s quest for expanding the footprint of cereals exports through exploring new opportunities has started to yield results. Ministry of Commerce & Industry has said that nine countries where India exported non-basmati rice for the first time in 2020-21 or where earlier the shipment was smaller in volume included Timor-Leste, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Eswatini, Myanmar and Nicaragua. 

The total volume of export of rice to these nine countries was a few hundred metric tonnes in 2018-19 and in 2019-20. This rose to over 1.5 lakh metric tonnes last year.

 

In the case of wheat, exports to seven specified



countries where there were none in 2018-19 and only 4 metric tonnes in 2019-20, wheat export to these seven countries rose to nearly 1.5 lakh metric tonnes last year. Export of other cereals to 6 specified countries where there were none in 2018-19 also saw an increase.

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has attributed this sharp spike in exports of cereals to synergy and collaboration between various stakeholders including farmers, millers, exporters and government agencies. It added that APEDA has been exploring new opportunities

through ensuring market access, adherence to products’ quality and phytosanitary measures.