LT Foods, KRBL: Rice companies' share prices fall over 6% as Trump raises concerns over Indian rice imports

At a White House roundtable, Trump stated that tariffs would be used aggressively to protect American farmers, which weighed on sentiment for Indian rice stocks.

Speaking at the session with farmers, lawmakers, and senior cabinet officials on Monday, Trump said his administration would provide “$12 billion in economic assistance to American farmers,” funded by tariff revenues collected from trading partners. He added that the country was bringing in significant amounts of money through these tariffs, claiming that other nations had “taken advantage of us like nobody’s ever seen.”

During the meeting, one of the representatives told Trump that rice producers in the southern part of the country were "really struggling” and that other nations, especially India and Thailand, were "dumping" rice into the US.

"They shouldn't be dumping," Trump said. "I mean, I heard that; I heard that from others. You can't do that."

How stocks are faring

At the time of writing this article, LT Foods was trading 6.43% lower at ₹368.20 on the NSE, while KRBL was down 1.44% at ₹375.65 on the NSE. Kohinoor Foods Ltd was trading 1% lower at ₹26.90, while GRM Overseas Ltd was down 4.08% at ₹445.85 on the NSE.

According to news reports, India exported about 2.34 lakh tonnes of rice to the US in the 2024 fiscal year, less than 5% of its total global basmati rice exports of 52.4 lakh tonnes.

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), West Asia remains the dominant destination for Indian rice.

Trump’s new tariff threat comes months after the US administration imposed a 50% duty on Indian goods, including a 25% punitive tariff over India’s purchase of cheap Russian oil.

Meanwhile, trade discussions between New Delhi and Washington are still on; however, no major breakthrough has been reached so far. A US delegation is expected to visit India later this week for the next round of negotiations.