No fresh curbs on broken rice exports as India banks on steady paddy procurement
New Delhi: Despite a surge in international prices, India is unlikely to impose fresh restrictions on broken rice exports, banking instead on comfortable foodgrain stocks and steady paddy procurement to meet domestic food security needs, even as El Niño raises concerns over crop output, two government officials said.
India is the world's largest rice exporter, shipping out 8.08 lakh tonnes of broken rice in calendar year 2025. India banned broken rice exports on 9 September 2022 amid concerns over domestic availability and rising prices, and lifted the restriction on 7 March 2025.
“As of now there is no such proposal to impose any kind of restrictions on shipments for broken rice,” said the first of the two officials cited earlier, both speaking on condition of anonymity.
The government's confidence stems from its existing foodgrain reserves, with the rice stocks in the central pool at 39.05 million tonnes as of 1 September, while another 30.75 million tonnes of procured paddy was awaiting milling, according to Food Corporation of India data.
The combined stock of rice and wheat stood at 87.05 million tonnes, providing a substantial cushion to meet domestic food security requirements. The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) has estimated paddy procurement at 70.86 million tonnes for the 2026-27 kharif marketing season (KMS).
The Central Food Grains Procurement portal showed that 6.49 million tonnes of paddy had been procured as of 5 November. However, the data covered only 12 of the 21 procuring states, indicating that the reported figure does not represent the complete national procurement position.
“The stock position is in our favour. It gives a substantial cushion for meeting domestic requirements, including allocations under the National Food Security Act,” said the second official.
Queries sent to the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution remained unanswered till press time.
India produces around 5-6 million tonnes of broken rice annually, which is primarily used as poultry and animal feed and as feedstock for ethanol production, according to the government.
India is a major producer of rice, and any change in its export policy can impact global prices. Similarly, lifting export restrictions helps cool prices in international markets. For instance, India's rollback of rice export restrictions contributed to a 29% fall in global rice prices in 2025 and helped cool food inflation, particularly in African and Asian countries such as Senegal, Benin and Bangladesh, which depend heavily on Indian rice, according to a World Trade Organization (WTO) report published in Mint on 11 November 2025.
"At a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty and frequent disruptions to global supply chains, India would want to maintain its position as a reliable supplier of rice to international markets, while ensuring adequate domestic availability and food security," said Binod Anand, agriculture expert and a member of the government's committee on minimum support price (MSP).
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization's October 2026 rice price update, India's export price for white rice with 5% broken kernels stood at $390–394 per tonne, while the 25% broken variety was quoted at $380–384 per tonne. The export price of Indian parboiled rice with 5% broken kernels ranged between $381 and $385 per tonne.