How to start
- Get an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT online; it is free and linked to your PAN.
- Register with APEDA and get your RCMC (Registration-cum-Membership Certificate) through the DGFT e-RCMC system.
- Start with a sortex-cleaned, graded rice from a mill you can audit; buyers ask for broken percentage, moisture and grain length on every lot.
- Check the current DGFT export policy for non-basmati rice before you sign a contract; it has changed several times in recent years.
Top buyer countries
- Saudi Arabia1,069.75 US$ million · 2025-26
- Iran810.08 US$ million · 2025-26
- United Arab Emirates701.52 US$ million · 2025-26
- Benin675.44 US$ million · 2025-26
- Iraq674.35 US$ million · 2025-26
Certificates and registrations
- APEDA RCMC; basmati export contracts are registered with APEDA
- Phytosanitary certificate from the Plant Quarantine Organisation of India
- Pesticide residue test report from an accredited lab for EU, UK and US buyers
Watch out for
- Export bans, minimum export prices and duties on non-basmati rice can be announced at short notice.
- EU pesticide residue limits (for example on tricyclazole) cause basmati rejections; test before shipping.
Businesses in the encyclopedia
Rice Mill (Mini) →Black Rice Processing Unit →Katarni Rice Processing Unit →Hill Red Rice Processing and Packing →
Sources (3)
- TradeStat (Export Import Data Bank), Department of Commerce — Commodity-wise export, 2025-26, US$ million — HS 1006
- TradeStat (Export Import Data Bank), Department of Commerce — Commodity-wise all countries export, HS 1006, 2025-26, US$ million · 2025-26
- HBP Appendix 2T — List of EPCs / Commodity Boards (DGFT), via research/export-import.json · 2023