The Indian Rice Exporters Association recommended member companies to stop exporting rice to Iran pending the clarification of the situation in the region against the background of the current tension between the United States and Iran in the wake of the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, in an American air strike that targeted his car in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Last Friday.
The president of the federation, Nate Ram Ram Gupta, was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying that the union will hold a general assembly tomorrow Wednesday to decide on the duration of the cessation of rice exports to Iran.
He added, "Basmati rice cannot be exported to Iran in light of the current situation," noting that Indian companies have dues of 9 billion rupees ($ 125 million) in Iran until June 2019.
India's exports of basmati rice to Iran increased during the fiscal year 2018/2019 by almost 70% over the previous year to 1.84 million tons. Iran accounted for about 34% of the total Indian basmati rice exports during FY 2018-2019.
At the same time, the total exports of non-basmati Indian rice to Iran reached 33,863 tons last year, or 0.4% of the total Indian rice exports, which were 7.6 million tons.