Basmati prices cool at home as a restive Red Sea hurts exports
basmati rice have fallen due to militant attacks against merchant ships in the Red Sea, leading to 5-10% fall in basmati prices in the domestic market, exporters said.
Leading shipping lines' decision to avoid the Suez Canal route amid Houthi attacks has also impacted sunflower oil imports from Russia and Ukraine. Sunflower oil prices in the local market are likely to go up by 3-4% as international prices have increased by $30 per tonne in the last one week to $940 per tonne, trade insiders said.
Basmati exporters said the export market has become sluggish and the shipping cost to places like Jeddah, Yemen, Beirut, and Durban have shot up multiple times in some cases.
Prior to the Red Sea crisis, for example, the freight charge to Yemen was $850 per container, which has now jumped to $2,400, they said. Similarly, freight rate to Jeddah have shot up to $1,500 from $300 per container.
The rate to Durban has jumped to $1,200 per container from $700.
«Due to this freight hike, buyers are not taking cargo this time,» said Vijay Setia, former president at All India Rice Exporters Association. «As a result, prices of basmati rice have fallen in the domestic market now.»
India annually exports 4-4.5 million tonnes of basmati rice.
