Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indian farmers' protest continue despite producing largest rice crop in history

Indian farmers' protest continue despite producing largest rice crop in history

FARMERS in India are gathering in the largest rice crop in history, which promises record exports, while making sure to keep up their longest-running protest, set to turn a year old next month.

The sit-in against controversial agriculture reforms is taking place in New Delhi.


"We'll not budge until the government rolls back the laws," said Sukrampal Beniwal, a farmer in Haryana, referring to three measures the farmers, demonstrating by the tens of thousands in the capital, say will threaten their livelihoods.

Farmers in the breadbasket state have joined hands to bring in the mammoth crop and make sure that every time a group sets off to harvest rice, a similar number leave to join the protest on the outskirts of New Delhi, Beniwal said.

"Because of our camaraderie, we have quite successfully dealt with the two competing challenges: managing the protest against legislation and harvesting a big crop," he added.

Introduced in September 2021, the legislation deregulates the agriculture sector, letting farmers sell produce to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets, where growers are assured of a minimum price.

While small farmers say the changes make them vulnerable to competition from big business, and threaten the eventual loss of price support, the government says the reforms will bring them new prospects and better prices.

Yet, with global food prices near-decade highs after a surge of 30 per cent in rates for cereals over the past year, India's problem of plenty also offers a dazzling opportunity.

The new harvest will boost exports to help the South Asian nation cement its status as the dominant supplier of the world's most critical grain, traders say.

"Indian prices are very attractive at a time when demand is rather strong from many buyers, including China and a clutch of countries in Africa," said Aditya Garg, a leading exporter of the grain.

"In fact, for non-basmati rice, many Indian exporters have received orders from a lot of new buyers in Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania and Iran."

Coming at a time of flat output in traditional export powerhouses Vietnam and Thailand, the higher supply will let New Delhi offer more competitive rates to undercut any rivals.

Output of summer-sown rice in 2021/22 will hit a record 107.04 million tonnes, the farm ministry says, while combined output of summer and winter rice will hit 125 million, or about 24.5 per cent of global rice output, its largest ever.

Coupled with upgraded export facilities, that volume will allow India to repeat, or even surpass, last year's record export tally of 20 million tonnes, filling growing demand for the staple from buyers across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

India is selling 25 per cent broken rice, a non-basmati variety preferred by most overseas buyers, at $345 a tonne on a free-on-board basis compared to $360 offered by Thailand, the world's second-biggest rice exporter, dealers said, with some cargoes even sold at $320 a tonne.

Rice is India's biggest foreign exchange earning farm commodity, with shipments worth $8.82 billion in the fiscal year that ended in March 2021, government figures show.

Until two seasons ago, India's annual rice exports averaged about 11 million to 12 million tonnes.

But shipments soared to 20 million tonnes for a record share of 40.7 per cent of global trade last season, data from the US department of agriculture (USDA) shows, after growing problems in Southeast Asia pushed up the prices of rivals to make Indian non-basmati shipments attractive to hungry global buyers.

More For You

Baiju Bhatt

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo: Getty Images)

Baiju Bhatt named among youngest billionaires in US by Forbes

INDIAN-AMERICAN entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of the commission-free trading platform Robinhood, has been named among the 10 youngest billionaires in the United States in the 2025 Forbes 400 list.

At 40, Bhatt is the only person of Indian origin in this group, which includes figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Forbes estimates his net worth at around USD 6–7 billion (£4.4–5.1 billion), primarily from his roughly 6 per cent ownership in Robinhood.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mandelson-Getty

Starmer dismissed Mandelson on Thursday after reading emails published by Bloomberg in which Mandelson defended Jeffrey Epstein following his 2008 conviction. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Minister says Mandelson should never have been appointed

A CABINET minister has said Peter Mandelson should not have been made UK ambassador to the US, as criticism mounted over prime minister Keir Starmer’s judgment in appointing him.

Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, told the BBC that Mandelson’s appointment was seen as “high-risk, high-reward” but that newly revealed emails changed the situation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shivani Raja MP leads fight to save Leicester Diwali celebrations

Shivani Raja MP

Shivani Raja MP leads fight to save Leicester Diwali celebrations

TWO Conservative MPs have launched a petition to stop Leicester City Council cutting back this year's Diwali celebrations.

Shivani Raja, MP for Leicester East, and Neil O'Brien, who represents nearby Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, started the Change.org petition on Wednesday (10) after the council announced plans to remove key elements from the October 20 event.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian American hotel employee beheaded in Dallas

Chandra Nagamallaiah (R) was stabbed and beheaded on duty; Yordanis Cobos-Martinez was arrested and charged for the killing.

Indian American hotel employee beheaded in Dallas

A STAFF MEMBER at Downtown Suites Dallas, US, was killed on Wednesday (10) morning. Chandra Nagamallaiah, 50, was stabbed and beheaded on duty in front of his wife and son, according to reports.

Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, was arrested and charged in the killing, which reportedly stemmed from an argument over a broken washing machine, media reports said, citing the Dallas Police Department.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deadly Pakistan floods force over two million to flee their homes

Residents sit in a rescue boat as they evacuate following monsoon rains and rising water levels in the Chenab River, in Basti Khan Bela, on the outskirts of Jalalpur Pirwala, Punjab province, Pakistan, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Quratulain Asim

Deadly Pakistan floods force over two million to flee their homes

OVER two million people have been forced to leave their homes as devastating floods continue to sweep across Pakistan's eastern regions, authorities announced.

The worst-hit area is Punjab province, where more than two million residents have been evacuated. An additional 150,000 people have fled Sindh province, according to national disaster management chief Inam Haider Malik, who warned that the "number may rise over the coming days".

Keep ReadingShow less