The Indian Rice Exporters’ Federation (IREF) has called on the Union government to announce focused fiscal and policy measures in the Union Budget 2026 to strengthen India’s rice export ecosystem, covering both basmati and non-basmati varieties.In a representation to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the federation underlined the importance of rice exports for the economy, rural livelihoods and global food security, reported news agency ANI. It flagged multiple challenges facing the sector, including ecological stress, rising costs and market volatility, and said targeted budgetary support could improve competitiveness while ensuring sustainability and better returns for farmers.“The rice sector faces ecological stress, notably groundwater depletion in major paddy belts, high fiscal costs of procurement and storage, and market and compliance volatility,” the federation said in its letter. It added that the Union Budget 2026 could help address these issues through “targeted fiscal and enabling measures” that strengthen sustainability and farmer outcomes.IREF outlined a series of priority demands aimed at supporting the entire rice value chain. One key ask is the introduction of tax and investment incentives linked to verified water-saving and low-emission farming practices. These include Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), laser land levelling and the use of energy-efficient milling technologies. According to the federation, such measures would reduce environmental stress while improving long-term productivity.The exporters’ body also urged the government to encourage farmers to shift acreage towards premium basmati rice and GI-tagged, organic and speciality non-basmati varieties. This, it said, would help farmers earn higher realisation, promote market-led crop diversification and lower dependence on minimum support price-based procurement systems.To improve export competitiveness, IREF sought interest subvention on export credit to ease working capital pressures faced by exporters. It also called for targeted freight and port facilitation measures to reduce logistics costs, which remain a key concern for rice shipments.The federation further requested the continuation and appropriate calibration of the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme for rice. Ensuring that embedded taxes are adequately refunded, it said, is crucial for maintaining India’s competitiveness in global markets.Another major concern raised was the need to strengthen export finance guarantees and upgrade compliance-related infrastructure. This includes better testing facilities, traceability systems and quality assurance mechanisms to protect India’s standing in premium international markets.“These measures will directly lower exporters’ costs, incentivise sustainability and encourage the scaling up of value-added shipments,” said Dr Prem Garg, national president of IREF, as per news agency ANI. He added that rice should be explicitly covered under budgetary initiatives related to export credit, logistics and trade facilitation.Citing industry data, the federation said India currently accounts for around 40 per cent of global rice trade, a level of dominance unmatched in any other commodity. Having met domestic food security needs, it said India is well-positioned to supply international markets at scale. In FY2024-25, the country exported about 20.1 million tonnes of rice to more than 170 countries, according to figures shared by IREF.