India likely to keep rice export bans into 2024

Joseph Kuraru, a 26 year-old kiosk owner in Nairobi, Kenya, removes sugar from a sack to serve to a customer, Friday, Oct 27, 2023. The amount of sugar milled in Kenya fell steadily from June to August. To compensate, monthly imports doubled from September to October. Meanwhile, a 50-kilogram (110 pounds) bag of local sugar doubled in price, said Kuraru. (AP Photo/Sayyid Abdul Azim)

New Delhi: India, the world’s top rice exporter, is expected to maintain its curbs on overseas sales well into next year, a move likely to hold the staple grain at close to its highest price levels since the food crisis of 2008.

Lower prices and ample stockpiles have helped make India one of the top shippers globally over the past decade, recently accounting for almost 40% of the total. African nations like Benin and Senegal are among the top buyers.