As close to 3,000 containers containing 60,000 metric tonnes of basmati rice remain stuck at various Indian ports, rice exporters have demanded immediate government aid to face the “severe shipping and logistics disruption” due to the war in West Asia.
Maintaining that India’s rice trade with Africa and West Asia together accounts for about half of national rice exports, the exporters urged the Union government to issue an official advisory recognising the current logistics disruption as a “force majeure type” of exceptional circumstances.
Around 90% of total rice exports towards West Asia, worth about ₹25,000 crore annually, is basmati rice and rice exporters told The Hindu that the situation has impacted their business very badly.
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In a letter to Chairman of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) Abhishek Dev, the Indian Rice Exporters Federation said the government must issue an official advisory or notification recognising the current disruption as a force majeure type of exceptional circumstance.
