Pakistani rice exporters upbeat despite India’s return to global market

Pakistani rice exporters remain confident of meeting export targets despite India’s reentry into the international market.

Last September, the Indian government lifted a two-year ban on rice exports that was imposed to ensure domestic food security.

Waqar Ahmed, a leading Basmati rice exporter from Pakistan’s Punjab province, said despite India lifting the export bans, the rice shipments from Pakistan remain unaffected in the international market due to a new strategy being employed by Pakistani exporters that prioritises agility and quality.

“It’s a quality-centric strategy, avoiding a direct price war and instead focusing on premium offerings,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a senior official of the Pakistan Rice Exporters Association.

Under the new strategy, Pakistani exporters have avoided a direct price war with India and are focussing on premium offerings, he added.

“Our rice exports have been performing robustly and for the three months preceding India’s return (July to September 2024), Pakistan’s rice exports averaged a strong 550,000 tonnes per month,” Ahmed said.

Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics shows rice exports for the first 11 months of FY25 stood at 5.544 million tonnes, compared to 5.593 million tonnes a year earlier — a decline of 0.87 per cent.

Pakistan retained its foothold in high-end markets like the United Kingdom and the European Union and also served price-sensitive African destinations through a calibrated quality approach.

But Ashraf admitted that a new challenge facing Pakistani rice exporters was a 3.7 per cent drop in rice output during the kharif season 2024, which has meant a depletion of stocks since April 2025.

As a result, rice exports for the final quarter (April–June 2025) are projected to fall by around 15 per cent due to tight inventory.

At USD 349 per tonne (Free on Board), India is currently the cheapest exporter of 25 per cent broken non-Basmati rice — undercutting Thailand (USD 376), Vietnam (USD 362), and Pakistan (USD 365), he said.

Tags: broken non-basmati rice, export, rice, Basmati rice, Pakistan, India, shipments