India exported 198.65 lakh tonnes of rice by March 25 in the last fiscal year, surpassing the 163.58 lakh tonnes shipped throughout the entire 2023-24 financial year. Of this, 7.95 lakh tonnes were broken rice, which is also being used as feedstock for ethanol production.
In response to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs, Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, stated that the government closely monitors the domestic production, availability, and import/export of agricultural commodities. She added, “The domestic production of agri-commodities, their availability and import/export is monitored closely by the Government and keeping in mind the interest of the consumers, domestic farmers and industry, the Government makes necessary policy interventions as and when required to balance domestic food security in the country”
For the period from April 1, 2024, to March 25, 2025, India’s rice exports totaled 198.65 lakh tonnes. This included 59.44 lakh tonnes of basmati rice, 90.44 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice, 33.23 lakh tonnes of non-basmati white rice, 7.95 lakh tonnes of broken rice, and 7.59 lakh tonnes of other rice varieties.
In the 2023-24 fiscal year, India exported a total of 163.58 lakh tonnes of rice, with 5.49 lakh tonnes being basmati rice. Other exports included 75.7 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice, 23.6 lakh tonnes of non-basmati white rice, 5.49 lakh tonnes of broken rice, and 6.36 lakh tonnes of other varieties.
The minister also mentioned that India produces about 50-60 lakh tonnes of broken rice annually. Broken rice is mainly used as poultry feed, animal feed, and as feedstock for ethanol production by grain-based distilleries. The ethanol produced is then supplied to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for blending with petrol, benefiting these industries.
This could be a big loss because India supplied in the name of feed for alcohol whearas broken rice is a requirement for expensive cleaning of critical parts of the aviation engines.