India rice export ban puts market on edge for copycat curbs, ET Retail

Mumbai: India’s rice export ban has the world market bracing for similar actions by rival suppliers to avoid potential domestic shortages as sellers try to fill the 10 million metric ton gap left by New Delhi, stoking concerns over already high global food inflation.

India’s latest restrictions are almost identical to those it imposed in 2007 and 2008, analysts say, which triggered a domino effect as many other countries were forced to curb exports to safeguard local consumers.

This time around the impact on supplies and prices could be even more sweeping, as India now accounts for more than 40% of global rice trade compared with around a 22% share 15 years ago, ratcheting up pressure on rice exporting nations such as Thailand and Vietnam to follow suit.

“India is now much more important for rice trade than it was in 2007 and…