Top Rice Exporter India Curbs Shipments in Threat to Inflation
- Government bans broken rice exports and taxes other varieties
- Move will send shock waves through global agricultural markets
Workers bag rice paddy at a wholesale market in New Delhi, India.
Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
India, the world’s biggest rice shipper, restricted exports of key varieties that mainly go toward feeding Asia and Africa, threatening to rattle global crop markets and exacerbate food inflation and hunger.
The government has imposed a 20% duty on shipments of white and brown rice, and banned broken rice sales abroad. The curbs apply to roughly 60% of India’s overall rice exports, according to Bloomberg calculations.