India seen keeping rice export bans into 2024, holding up global prices
India, the world’s top rice exporter, is expected to maintain its curbs on overseas sales well into next year, a move likely to hold the staple grain at close to its highest price levels since the food crisis of 2008.
Lower prices and ample stockpiles have helped make India one of the top shippers globally over the past decade, recently accounting for almost 40% of the total. African nations like Benin and Senegal are among the top buyers.
But Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will seek reelection next year, has repeatedly tightened restrictions on shipments in a bid to curb domestic price rises and shield Indian consumers.