India exports over 4 million tons of basmati annually, a high-quality long-grain variety renowned for its fragrance, to countries such as Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
The European market also represents a major destination for this rice.
In an effort to steady the domestic prices, India had suspended non-basmati white rice exports in June and subsequently marked a minimum export price (MEP) or floor price of $1,200 per ton for basmati in August.
However, this measure led to a decline in exports of the premium rice variety and left farmers burdened with surplus stocks of the new-season rice.
In order to address this, the government reduced the floor price for basmati exports to $950 per ton last month.
Following the adjustment to the floor price, which had initially caused a halt in trade after the August decision, there has been a resurgence in basmati rice transactions, the report said, citing the traders.