India's April-Dec rice exports drop 10pc, pulses surge

MUMBAI, Feb 06 (Reuters): India's rice exports between April and December dropped 10.2 per cent from a year earlier to 8.46 million tonnes, as leading buyer Bangladesh trimmed purchases due to a bumper local harvest, a government body said.

The country's buffalo meat exports during the period slumped 13.3 per cent from a year-ago period to 928,024 tonnes, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said, as demand moderated from the biggest buyer - China.

Guar gum exports edged up 2.0 per cent to 372,819 tonnes on robust demand from the United States.

India is the world's biggest exporter of buffalo meat, guar gum and rice.

The country's exports of pulses more than doubled during the period to 234,429 tonnes, while dairy exports surged 79 per cent to 125,463 tonnes, the agency said.