China buys rice from India after three decades
For the first time in three decades, China bought rice from India, despite the ongoing border tension in Ladakh.
New Delhi, 2/12: In a breakthrough, China has bought rice from India. China happens to be the largest importer of rice, with an annual import of 4million tonnes and was importing rice from other countries. However, in a breakthrough move in three decades, has started to import from the largest exporter of rice in the world, India, owing to the sharply discounted prices. Earlier, China avoided importing from India citing quality issues. Moreover, the import occurs at a time when the political tension between the two countries is at an all-time high, following repeated faceoffs in the border shared between the two in the Himalayas.
“For the first time, China has made rice purchases. They may increase buying next year after seeing the quality of Indian crop,” said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association. The traders have contracted to export 100,000 tonnes of broken rice for Dec-February shipments at around $300 per tonne, industry officials said. China’s traditional suppliers, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Pakistan, have limited surplus supplies for export and were quoting at least $30 per tonne more compared with Indian prices, according to rice trade officials.
