India eyes biggest rice market Philippines as new export destination, delegation to visit next month

India is pushing rice exports to the world’s largest importer of the commodity – the Philippines – and to tap the opportunity, a large delegation of leading exporters will visit the Southeast Asian nation next month, an official said.

The Philippines is an important market for India in agricultural products exports.

In 2024, the Philippines imported agricultural goods worth about USD 20 billion, with key imports including semi-milled rice, wheat and meslin, oilcake, food preparations, and palm oil.

India exported agricultural products worth USD 413 million to the Philippines in 2024, accounting for about 2 per cent of the Philippines’ total agricultural imports.

India’s major exports to this market were bovine meat, groundnut, rice, and tobacco.

“Philippines’ is the largest importer of rice in the world, with imports in 2024, valued at USD 2.52 billion. However, there is significant opportunity to expand India’s rice exports in the Philippines as, despite India being the world’s largest rice exporter – worth USD 11.83 billion in 2024-25 – India’s rice exports were only USD 48.91 million to the Philippines in the same period,” the official said.

This reflects a significant untapped opportunity for India in the Philippine rice market, the official added.

“To build on this potential, a delegation of leading exporters of rice, and other key potential exports to Philippines like vegetables (onion and potato), groundnut, and meat visiting the Philippines in early September,” the commerce ministry official said.

Additionally, a delegation of the Philippines food importers will participate in World Food India from September 25-28, which is India’s largest food trade fair, and International Rice Conference on October 30-31, 2025, which will be a first of its kind rice trade fair at this scale.

Further, the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region continues to be a significant export destination for India’s agricultural and processed food products.

During 2023-24, exports to the CIS stood at USD 480 million, which increased to USD 628 million in 2024-25, reflecting a strong upward trend.

Russia, being a major trading partner within the CIS, plays a pivotal role in this growth.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been actively participating in key trade events such as World Food Moscow, which serve as vital platforms for promoting Indian agricultural and processed food products.

These events offer exporters substantial opportunities for networking, establishing new business partnerships, and strengthening existing trade relationships across the CIS region, the official added.