Despite the political tension, China started importing Indian rice for the first time in three decades
Indian industry officials told Reuters that China has started importing Indian rice for the first time in at least three decades. India is the world’s largest exporter of rice and China is the largest importer. Beijing imports around 4 million tonnes of rice annually but avoids purchases from India citing quality issues.
This success has come at a time when the political dispute between the two countries is high due to the border dispute in the Himalayas.
“For the first time China has bought rice. BV Krishna Rao, president of Rice Exporters Association, said they could increase purchases next year, given the quality of the Indian crop. Industry officials said that Indian traders have contracted to export 100,000 tonnes of broken rice for December. According to Indian rice trade officials, China’s traditional suppliers, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Pakistan have limited surplus supplies for export and are quoting at least $ 30 per ton more than Indian prices.
