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Short and long-term impacts of India’s rice export ban

An ag economist says there are both short and long-term impacts from India’s export ban on long-grain rice.  India says the ban, which excludes basmati and parboiled rice, is intended to curb food inflation in the country.

Tanner Ehmke with CoBank says it could push global rice prices up.  “As those prices of rice increase buyers around the world are going to be looking for alternatives,” he says.  “The U.S. by far is a cheaper alternative, as a result, the U.S. will be backfilling a lot of other markets, especially in our backyard in the Western Hemisphere.”

But, he tells Brownfield the price spike could be temporary, especially when India reverses its ban on rice exports.  “Supplies will be dumped on a world market that is already swelling with rice supplies from other countries,” he says.  “The immediate impact is going to be an overcorrection and we’re going to see rice prices drop fairly significantly, I would imagine.”

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is scheduled to arrive in India on Saturday to meet with business leaders and hold bilateral meetings with government officials.  

AUDIO: Tanner Ehmke, CoBank