India's top rice imports

 India's top rice imports are convinced that the government won't follow other countries in adopting restrictions on grains exports as the country has more than enough supplies to satisfy domestic demand. Bumper crops will help the country avoid curbs on international sales, based on some of the country's key exporters. As the coronavirus continues to spread across the Earth, fear buying and worries over supply chain disruptions have contributed many states such as Vietnam, Russia and Kazakhstan, to quit exporting some staple foods to shore up supplies at home. That has raised questions over whether India, the world's largest exporter of rice will follow suit. "India is not deficient in production and, at the immediate future, there doesn't appear to be a cause for concern over food security," said Vijay Setia, director at Chaman Lal Setia Exports Ltd., a rice miller and exporter. "We may have enough surplus for exports." Continued shipments of rice from India may cool prices and prevent consumers from fear buying. Fears of shortages have aided costs of Thai white rice 5% broken, an Asian export benchmark, surge more than 25% this year to $564 a ton on Wednesday, the greatest since 2013. Rough rice futures in Chicago are around the most powerful for almost six years. Biryani, Pilafrequirement for Indian basmati rice, an aromatic grain used in dishes such as biryani and pilaf, has improved lately, largely in the U.S. and Europe, based on Ashwani Arora, chief executive officer of LT Foods Ltd.. There may also be an increase in demand from Middle Eastern countries, '' he explained. Global milled rice production will be little changed from a year earlier at 499.31 million tons from 2019-20, based on data in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ending stockpiles are seen at a record 182.3 million tons, up about 4 percent from a year before, the data reveal. While global grain stocks are relatively comfortable and the weather forecast this season fairly optimistic, states may adopt export restrictions or boost stockpiling if the pandemic accelerate faster than expected or when the crop outlook deteriorates, Fitch Solutions stated in a report. India has imposed export curbs during comparable conditions previously, it said. Though there are no concerns at the moment,"when the fear of this unknown prevails and niches get dented with hoarding etc., then of course various governments must resort to means at their disposal to deal with the situation," explained Setia, a former president of the All India Rice Exporters' Association, that has traded the product for at least four decades. "Imposing restrictions on external trade may be one such measure," he explained. Shipments of rice have slowed a bit due to logistics issues, such as a lack of employees and truck drivers, brought on by the nationally lockdown, said Vinod Kaul, the executive director of the institution. Exporters are hesitating to sign new contracts with overseas buyers because of the downturn in present imports, '' he said. "The lockdown is going to have some effect and we can't avoid it," Kaul said. "There is no move by the authorities to prohibit exports."