Buyers from Africa to Asia are likely to scramble for rice shipments as supplies tighten in coming months following India'sThe ban will cut availability of the staple on world markets by about a fifth, traders and analysts said, and could lead to importers seeking more government-to-government deals to overcome shortages and tame spiralling prices.
While announcing its export ban last week, India has left the door ajar for such deals, saying that it will consider meeting the requirements of countries in need of rice supplies.Last September, India banned exports of broken rice in a bid to cool domestic prices, but since then official data shows the country approved sales of around one million metric tons of broken rice to Indonesia, Senegal, Gambia, Mali and Ethiopia.
African buyers are likely to approach the Indian government for rice sales, and Asian importers such as Indonesia and the Philippines could sign government-to-government contracts with the region's top exporters Thailand and Vietnam, traders said.