33,000 Tonnes of Rice at Stake as Mauritius Seeks to Swap Pakistan for India

Mauritius is actively pursuing long-term deals with India for the import of roughly 33,000 tonnes of rice, aiming to ease out Pakistan as a significant supplier and sustain its subsidised food programme.

Seeking to Reverse Supply Chain Shift

The move comes after Pakistan stepped in to become the country’s main rice supplier following India’s 2023 ban on non-basmati rice exports, implemented to cool down its domestic markets.

Takesh Luckho, chairman of the Mauritius State Trading Corporation, confirmed the push to secure new arrangements.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a global rice conference, Luckho explained that before the ban, India supplied the majority of Mauritius’s rice through long-term contracts.

Pakistan Capitalised on Ban

The ban forced the Mauritian government to initiate an open tendering process, which allowed Pakistan—described by Luckho as India’s major rival in the world rice market—to begin “capturing the market.”

Luckho stated that the government is now seeking to reverse this supply chain shift because India has since lifted the ban.

Although some rice continued to be supplied from India through “government-to-government deals even during the ban,” Luckho admitted it was “not enough” to meet the country’s needs.

Source: Business Standards