Indian rice exporters are increasingly looking beyond traditional destinations for growth, with shipments to Jordan rising nearly eight-fold and basmati exports to Turkey doubling, according to a press release issued ahead of the Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC) 2026.
The surge highlights how markets outside the conventional list of the world's largest rice importers could offer significant opportunities for Indian exporters, the release said, as per PTI.
It comes as global rice trade is projected to expand substantially over the next decade, with the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2026-2035 reportedly forecasting an increase of around 22 million tonnes to roughly 81 million tonnes by 2035.
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Africa's share of global rice imports is expected to climb from about 35% currently to nearly 45% by 2035, potentially representing a multi-billion-dollar opportunity, the report said.
Dev Garg, vice-president of the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF), told PTI that exporters needed to move away from targeting markets purely on the basis of size.
"The traditional approach has been to look at the largest import markets and assume that those are automatically the best opportunities. We want to challenge that thinking," Garg said, citing Turkey and Jordan as markets few would have flagged at the start of the year.
The release noted that the rise in shipments to Jordan did not necessarily reflect higher domestic consumption, with part of the growth instead tied to shifting regional trade routes following disruption to direct trade with Iran, which has made Jordan more significant as a distribution hub and alternative trade corridor.
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The New Markets session at BIRC 2026 will assess potential destinations on factors including demand growth, import dependence, competition, price realisation, freight costs, duties and payment risks, rather than ranking countries solely by import volumes, Garg said.
India currently exports rice to more than 170 countries, though a large share remains concentrated in established markets. Between November 2025 and March 2026, exports to 26 priority markets identified at BIRC 2025 reached approximately Rs 23,476 crore and 4.79 million tonnes, 5.6% above the corresponding three-year average, the release said.
The Bharat International Rice Conference 2026 will be held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi from October 23 to 25.
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