Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines urge India to resume rice exports; UN also repeats request in the name of humanitarian aid

Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines are calling on India to resume exports of rice following New Delhi’s decision to suspend shipments of non-basmati white rice abroad to help lower prices, Sputnik quoted Indian media reports.

Singapore has requested some 110,000 tonnes of rice from India, with Indonesia intending to import one million tonnes of rice to alleviate disruptions in food market caused by bad weather, newspaper Mintreported on Sunday, adding that the Philippines also relies heavily on rice supplies from India.

Other countries and actors, including the United Nations (UN) and Bangladesh, have increased demand for rice from India, the report stated.

The UN World Food Programme recently asked the Indian suppliers for 200,000 tonnes of rice for humanitarian aid to improve global food security.

UN added that rice supply significantly harmed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict, the newspaper reported, adding that Bangladesh is also in talks with India regarding food supplies.

On July 20, the Indian government announced that it suspended exports of non-basmati white rice to increase domestic supply and check market prices. The measure caused major disruptions to global food market since India accounts for 40 per cent of global rice exports.

Tags: Singapore, shipments, UN, World Food Programme, The Philippines, non-basmati white rice, exports, Indonesia, prices, rice, India