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India’s global rice exports could top 10 million tonnes in the fiscal year ending next March, industry officials said Thursday.
Thailand, the world’s No. 1 rice exporter, is in danger of losing its top position for the first time since 1983 because of a government intervention scheme that has pushed Thai export prices up to uncompetitive levels.
Forecasts from the the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that India, which resumed exports in September 2011, could take over the No.1 spot from Thailand this year.
Rice exports from Pakistan are expected to grow to 3.7 million tonnes in the fiscal year, compared to 3.4 million tonnes exported in 2011. Forecasts show the country will retain its spot as the worlds fourth biggest rice exporter.
Myanmar’s rice exports could top 1 million tonnes this fiscal year, up more than 18 per cent from a year ago, on strong demand from China for grain traded across the border.
Myanmar is one of the world’s top 10 rice exporting countries, according to rankings by the USDA.
Here are USDA rankings and forecasts for the world’s top 10 exporting countries.
World’s top 10 exporters (in million tonnes):
| Country | Exports | Forecast |
| (2011) | (2012) | |
| 1. Thailand | 10.6 | 6.5 |
| 2. Vietnam | 7.0 | 7.2 |
| 3. India | 4.6 | 10.0 |
| 4. Pakistan | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| 5. United States | 3.2 | 3.3 |
| 6. Brazil | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| 7. Cambodia | 0.86 | 0.80 |
| 8. Uruguay | 0.84 | 1.00 |
| 9. Myanmar | 0.78 | 0.70 |
| 10. Argentina | 0.73 | 0.68 |
