New Delhi: Indian rice exporters seemed unperturbed after US President Donald Trump threatened to levy additional duties claiming that he will "take care" of the alleged dumping of Indian rice into the US. However, Indian exporters brushed aside Trump's latest tariff threat saying it is "not a major concern", as the export volumes to America are too small to significantly impact the sector.
"They shouldn't be dumping," Trump said. "I mean, I heard that, I heard that from others. You can't do that," Trump had said on the rice issue. US farmers, facing falling domestic rice prices, argue that imports from countries such as India, Vietnam and Thailand are undercutting their produce.
India Rice Exporter Federation President Prem Garg said basmati shipments to the US make up less than 3% of India’s six million tonnes of annual basmati exports, while America’s share in India’s overall 21-million-tonne rice exports is under 1%.
"The US market is not large in our overall export basket and other new markets are also growing," he said.
Garg reiterated that allegations by US officials of India "dumping" rice are "completely wrong", noting that the US imports only about 2.7 lakh tonne of Indian rice annually, a small volume compared to India's global footprint.
His comments come even as Washington debates imposing more duties on Indian rice, which already faces a 50% tariff. The levy, which started at 10% six months ago before being raised to 25% and then to 50% over the past three months, has had “no impact on demand,” Garg said.
"Exports in November are similar to last year," he added.
Rising Tariffs, Same Demand
Industry executives noted that any further tariff increase would largely hit American consumers rather than Indian exporters. Ricevilla Group CEO Suraj Agarwal said basmati and premium non-basmati rice varieties shipped to the US are everyday staples for Asian and Middle Eastern communities.
"These are necessity items, not luxury goods. Demand impact will be negligible. Only US consumers will bear the brunt of any additional tariff," he said.
India, which accounts for 40 per cent of global rice exports and supplies 172 countries, continues to witness strong demand. While Gulf nations remain the core markets for basmati, African countries are emerging as fast-growing destinations. Benin alone imported more than 60,000 tonnes of basmati last year - a new market expanding "very fast", Garg said.
Russia has also started buying basmati, going beyond its earlier preference for non-basmati varieties. Even major rice-producing nations like Brazil and Thailand are now importing Indian basmati, he noted.
Garg added that India has surpassed China to become the world’s largest rice producer, and domestic output is expected to rise by 4–5 per cent next year as farmers benefit from better prices.
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