By Sameer Mohindru

Amid all the depressing news about a slowdown in the economy, a plethora of scams and poor performance in cricket, India has at least one reason to celebrate: It has overtaken Thailand to become the world's top exporter of rice.

In less than five months after lifting a ban on exports of non-Basmati rice, India is shipping out more of the staple grain than any other country in the world, thanks to its cheaper prices, rising output and ample stocks. India’s rice stocks are big enough to hypothetically take care of the entire world’s import requirements for a year.

India's latest exports achievement is all the more impressive because it is the world's second most-populous country with its own billions of mouths to feed and with uncomfortably high inflation rates.

Neighboring China, a traditional rival in several fields, isn't a major trader in rice, though it remains the world's largest producer.

India exported at least 2.7 million metric tons of rice from October through January, traders, shipping agents and cargo surveyors who track Indian shipments told India Real Time. Thailand and Vietnam exported 2 million and 1.5 million tons, respectively, during the four-month period, according to industry and government estimates.

For each of the last four months, India consistently exported between 650,000 and 700,000 tons, industry officials said.

Price-conscious customers in Africa and Indonesia are snapping up Indian rice, taking advantage of the bumper output. India’s federal government has forecast India's rice output in the year that started Oct. 1 at a record 103 million tons, a 21% increase since 2000-01. Inventories are more than comfortable as the government was holding a stockpile of 31.8 million tons rice at the beginning of this month – that’s more than double the country’s mandatory minimum buffer requirements and just about equals the total global annual trade in rice.

While the government’s burgeoning stockpile isn’t available for exports, it prompted Indian policymakers to allow exports from the open market. This eased pressure on them to add to the already overflowing granaries they kept to guarantee minimum prices to the farmers.

Thailand and Vietnam have been comfortably perched as world's top two rice exporters for years but the balance of trade recently started shifting – and not only due to India removing export restrictions in early September. It’s also because the Thai government has been buying rice at artificially high prices since early October to fulfill a pre-election promise to farmers. Thai rice is now at least $100 per ton costlier than India's.

Thailand exported less than 400,000 tons of rice in January, most of which is fragrant Jasmine rice, Chookiat Ophaswongse, managing director of major Thai exporter Huay Chuan Rice Co told India Real Time. Thailand had been exporting more than one million ton of rice a month for the first half of 2011.

Vietnam's rice exports fell to below 300,000 tons in January, a considerable drop from the monthly average of almost 600,000 tons in 2011. Vietnam has been forced to cut its rice prices by around $150 a ton in recent months to attract buyers.

India can easily export around 600,000 tons of rice a month because of its competitive rates, though shipments may slow down due to rains in the third quarter, Prem Garg, managing director of Shri Lal Mahal Ltd., one of India's top rice exporters told India Real Time.

During the over three-year ban on non-Basmati rice, India just exported around 200,000 tons a month or less of the premium, long-grained variety, ceding market share to competitors such as Pakistan and Thailand.

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