Top Rice News: Centre’s Move, Pak Eyes And Philipinnes Surge

Centre Restricts Rice Use for Ethanol, Raising Pressure on Maize Demand

The Centre has decided to cap ethanol production from surplus rice held by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and damaged foodgrains, after curbing sugarcane-based feedstocks in procurement. Notably, this decision is likely to push more demand towards maize in the 2026-27 supply year. This move has also intensified competition for grain from the poultry, dairy, and starch industries.

The government has capped ethanol made from surplus FCI rice at 3.24 billion litres over the first three quarters under the revised tender conditions issued on November 3. They have also imposed a separate annual ceiling of 1.6 billion litres on ethanol from damaged food grains. Combining these two sources, which account for a maximum of 4.84 billion litres, or about 44% of the 11 billion –litre ethanol tender floated by oil marketing companies for supplying blended fuel. Moreover, these restrictions leave a substantial part of the ethanol requirement to be met through other feedstocks, especially maize, at a time when supplies are already under pressure from competing industrial and feed users.

Pakistan Eyes Share in Saudi Rice Market, Challenging India's Dominance

According to reports, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to put the newly set up technical mechanism to remove trade and regulatory hurdles and speed up cooperation in agriculture, livestock, trade and investment with Islamabad pushing to raise its share in the Saudi rice market. Currently, it supplies only 10% of imports, compared with roughly 90% from India. It is quite noteworthy that Pakistan is also offering to increase exports of Basmati rice, halal meat, livestock products and green fodder, along with seeking Saudi investment in modern Slaughterhouses and livestock farms. In addition, Riyadh indicated readiness to purchase more Pakistani farm produce provided it meets international standards of quality, pricing, quantity, and packaging. Apart from this, the two sides reaffirmed the strategic and brotherly ties between the countries and discussed follow-up on the recent visit of the Saudi Agri minister and the formation of a joint technical team.

Philippines’ Growing Rice Demand Drives Surge in Cambodian Exports

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the Philippines’ growing demand for rice has fueled a sudden rise in Cambodian rice exports as Manila seeks to diversify its imported rice sources. As per the USDA report, the Philippines has become Cambodia’s largest market for milled rice within the ASEAN region for 2026. As per data, the Philippines imports of milled rice from Cambodia totaled 122, 102 metric tons from January to August, which was significantly higher compared to the 3, 500 MT for the whole of 2025. Furthermore, the report revealed that Cambodia’s paddy rice exports to Vietnam dropped by 13 percent in the first four months. Moreover, the USDA stated that the rise in milled rice shipments to the Philippines, which is the world’s biggest rice importer, coincided with a reduction in paddy rice shipments to Vietnam.