Indian rice exporters on Tuesday dismissed the United States’ threat of imposing additional tariffs on Indian rice, saying the move is unlikely to have any significant impact on the sector. They also rejected allegations of “dumping,” calling the charge baseless.
According to Prem Garg, President of the India Rice Exporter Federation, basmati shipments to the US make up less than 3% of India’s annual six million tonnes of basmati exports. The US accounts for under 1% of India’s total rice exports, which stand at around 21 million tonnes.
“The US market is not large in our overall export basket, and new markets are growing steadily,” Garg said, adding that the claim of India dumping rice in the US market is “completely wrong.” The US imports only about 2.7 lakh tonnes of Indian rice annually—a negligible share compared to India’s global export footprint.
This comes as Washington considers further tariff hikes on Indian rice, which already attracts a 50% duty. The tariff, introduced six months ago at 10% and gradually increased to 25% and then 50%, has had “no impact on demand so far,” Garg said. “Exports in November are similar to last year.”
Industry players say any additional tariffs would primarily hurt American consumers. Suraj Agarwal, CEO of Ricevilla Group, said the basmati and premium non-basmati varieties exported to the US are staple foods 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 noted.
India, which supplies 40% of global rice exports and ships to 172 countries, continues to see strong demand. While Gulf nations remain major basmati buyers, African countries are rapidly emerging as new growth markets. Benin, for example, imported more than 60,000 tonnes of basmati last year, marking it as a fast-expanding destination. Russia, traditionally a non-basmati buyer, has also started purchasing Indian basmati.
Garg added that India has overtaken China to become the world’s largest rice producer. He expects domestic output to grow by 4–5% next year as farmers benefit from improved pricing.