China has begun importing Indian rice for the first time in at least three decades due to tightening supplies from Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam and an offer of sharply discounted prices, Indian industry officials said.India is the world’s biggest rice exporter and China the biggest importer. Beijing buys in around 4 million tonnes a year but has avoided purchases from India, citing quality issues.The rice imports come despite political tensions over a border dispute in the Himalayas which erupted into a clash in June in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.
India has since tightened rules for investments from China and banned dozens of Chinese mobile apps, including from tech giants Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance.Although the public mood in India has been anti-China, the country has remained engaged with Indian businesses.”For the first time China has made rice purchases. They may increase buying next year after seeing the quality of Indian crop,” B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association, told.
“Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam are struggling due to limited supplies. China eventually was left with no option but to buy from India,” said Himanshu Agarwal, executive director at Satyam Balajee, India’s biggest rice exporter.”I don’t know how long it will last. At least, movement has started.”China’s General Administration of Customs did not immediately respond to a fax seeking comment on rice imports.
