ARTICLE 2 #Rice Export

MUMBAI -- Rice traders in India, the world's biggest supplier of the staple, are paring back their forecasts of record exports as buyers struggle to take on the glut of rice unleashed by the lifting of the country's export curbs. This comes as Indian exporters find themselves in a similar situation to their peers in Thailand and Vietnam, who have been hit by the drop in prices caused by the Indian oversupply. India's Rice Exporters Association has cut its growth forecast of total rice exports for 2025 to 11%, amounting to about 20 million tons, down from its earlier forecast of a 25% jump to 22.5 million tons, B.V. Krishna Rao, the group's president, told Nikkei Asia.

Rice millers in Punjab have declared they will not process hybrid paddy varieties such as Pusa‑44, citing extremely high grain breakage rates (45–50%) and reduced head‑rice recovery (55–57% vs. the standard 67%). This makes milling financially unviable and poses serious complications for the upcoming procurement season. Millers are demanding relaxed breakage norms and access to an IIT Kharagpur study on yield outcomes.