India's Basmati Rice Exports Steady Despite Middle East Conflict
Analysis based on 8 articles · First reported Mar 16, 2026 · Last updated Mar 17, 2026
The market for basmati rice exports from India is expected to remain stable, with increased demand from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen offsetting reduced exports to Iran. This stability, however, comes with potential logistical challenges and increased working capital requirements for exporters, which they plan to pass on to customers.
S&P Global===CRISIL Ratings forecasts that India's basmati rice export volume will remain steady in FY26 and FY27, with up to 2% growth over the 6.06 million tonne logged last fiscal. This resilience is despite the ongoing Middle East conflict, which has disrupted supply chains and is expected to impact exports to Iran, a key market. Higher demand from other Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen is anticipated to offset these losses. Exporters are exploring alternative routes to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which may increase transit times and working capital requirements by 10-15%, but healthy balance sheets are expected to keep credit profiles stable. India is the largest producer and exporter of basmati rice, accounting for 85% of global volume.
Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.
Open Dashboard