Basmati rice sales to grow 30 pc on high demand this fiscal: Crisil Report

Mumbai: Basmati rice sales are likely to increase 30 per cent to more than Rs 50,000 crore in the current fiscal, mainly due to high realisation and healthy demand, according to a report.

In the report, Crisil Ratings said that next fiscal, however, sales will decline 5-7 per cent as basmati rice realisation is expected to soften with anticipated increase in paddy acreage.

The volume demand is expected to remain stable at 6.8 million tonnes, it added.

"Basmati sector sales will likely rise 30 per cent this fiscal, with volume growing 10 per cent and realisation increasing 20 per cent.

"Growth in export volume is driven by two factors -- increased food grain demand amid geo-political issues, and India benefiting from lower basmati exports from flood-affected Pakistan, a key basmati exporter. Next fiscal, sector sales will reduce by 5-7 per cent solely due to moderating prices," Crisil Ratings Director Nitin Kansal said.

Basmati rice exports, comprising 64 per cent of sales by volume, are estimated to log a healthy growth of 11 per cent on-year this fiscal to 4.4 million tonnes following strong demand from key markets like the Middle East and the US, as per the report.

India has already exported 3.19 million tonnes (growth of 16 per cent year- on-year) of basmati rice in the first nine months of this fiscal.