Mauritius revives its rice bond with India, kicks out Pakistan

Since 2005, India has been among the largest trading partners of Mauritius. For the FY 2024-25 Indian exports to Mauritius was INR 5.9 kharab (59000 Crores), Mauritian exports to India was INR 1.83 Kharab (18350 Crores ) and total trade was INR 7.7kharab Trade has grown by 329% in the last 17 years, from INR 1.8 Kharab in 2005-06 to INR 7.7 kharab in 2024-25.

Takesh Luckho, chairman of Mauritius State Trading Corporation, has confirmed that Mauritius is looking to enter into long-term deals with India for the import of around 33,000 tonnes of rice, a step that will help in kicking out Pakistan all together.

Speaking at the global rice conference, Takesh Luckho was quoted as saying by Business Standard that Pakistan became a significant rice supplier after India banned non-basmati rice exports in 2023 to cool down domestic markets.

He said India previously supplied rice to Mauritius as part of a long-term deals before the ban was imposed. After the ban was imposed, Pakistan tried to recapture the market after the Mauritian government began the process of open tendering.

Luckho said Mauritius is trying to reverse the trend after India lifted the ban. Pakistan in spite of food shortage tries to act like a major rival of India in the global rice market but now is floundering badly. Pakis even tried to steal the BASMATI Brand…imagine.

“Though, some amount of rice was supplied from government-to-government deals even during the ban, but it was not enough,” Luckho was quoted as sayign bby Business Standard.

Mauritius annually requires around 1,000 tonnes of basmati rice and 32,000 tonnes of non-basmati white rice, the newspaper reported. A 2.5-kilogram packet of white rice sold to beneficiaries is priced at around 26 Mauritian rupees (one Mauritian rupee is equivalent to around 1.94 Indian rupees).

“The same packet in the open market costs around 56 Mauritian rupees,” Luckho said.

The bilateral ties between the two countries were further strengthened following the recent visit of Mauritian Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam to India.

Petroleum products have been the largest export item for India between 2007 to 2019. Other Indian exports to Mauritius include pharmaceuticals, cereals, cotton, shrimps, prawns and bovine meat. Main Mauritian exports to India are vanilla, medical devices, needles, aluminium alloys, scrap paper, refined copper, men’s cotton shirts, etc.