Two varieties, two different businesses

The most common mistake in this trade is treating IR64 and Sona Masoori as two grades of one commodity. They share a customs heading and nothing else that matters commercially.

Benin alone accounts for roughly 16 percent of India’s non-basmati share and functions as West Africa’s re-export hub, with Guinea around 12 percent, Togo 9 percent and Senegal 7 percent. Iraq and the UAE take a further share on parboiled preference. If you are buying for one of those markets, you are in the IR64 conversation. If you are packing retail bags for a South Asian community in Dallas or Dubai, you are in the Sona Masoori conversation, and the two should never be priced off each other.

IR64: the broken percentage, and why the number alone is not enough

Broken content is the price axis in bulk rice. 5 percent broken, 25 percent broken and 100 percent broken are effectively three different products at three different prices.

But here is the clause most contracts omit: a broken grain has to be defined. It is a kernel below a stated fraction of the average whole kernel length, and that fraction is not applied identically by every mill. Two lots both honestly described as 5 percent broken can look and behave differently if the underlying definition differs.

Specify three things together: the broken percentage, the definition of a broken as a fraction of whole grain length, and separate limits for small brokens and chips. Without the definition the percentage is not enforceable, and this is the single most common source of arrival disputes in bulk rice. Agree the analysis method and an independent surveyor at load port in the same breath.

Parboiled, raw or steam

Colour follows the process. Parboiled rice carries a golden to amber tinge that deepens with a heavier treatment, and buyers who expect a white grain will reject it. Agree colour against a retained sealed sample, and state the parboiling intensity you want rather than the word “parboiled” alone.

Fortified rice

Fortified IR64 — where fortified rice kernels carrying a micronutrient premix are blended into milled rice — is a real and growing part of West African and institutional demand. If you need it, specify the premix composition, the blending ratio, the analytical verification method for the target micronutrients, and the labelling requirement. It is a different product with a different cost base, not an option added at the end of a negotiation.

Sona Masoori: ageing is the quality attribute

Sona Masoori is bought on how it cooks. A diaspora retail customer buying a 20 lb bag is comparing it directly against the bag they bought last year, and their judgement is made at the stove rather than in the shop.

Ageing is what decides that. Aged rice absorbs more water, cooks drier and more separate, and holds grain shape. New-crop rice tends to cook softer and stickier. Both are perfectly good rice; only one of them matches what your customer remembers.

Specify crop year and ageing period in the contract, and agree a cooking test against a retained sample — water absorption, cooked appearance and texture — rather than relying on visual grading alone. Almost nobody writes a cooking test into a rice contract, and it is the clause that would prevent most retail-brand complaints. Run the test in your own kitchen on the pre-shipment sample before you release the container.

Admixture is the Sona Masoori risk

Because Sona Masoori commands a premium over generic medium grain, substitution and blending with cheaper similar-looking varieties is the recognised risk. Specify varietal purity with a maximum admixture percentage as its own contract line, require it on every lot, and ask what the supplier does to verify it. A supplier who mills Sona Masoori from the southern belt and can name the source region will answer this easily.

Reference specification

Export policy is a real contract risk

This section matters more in rice than in any other Indian commodity, and buyers who ignore it get caught.

India’s rice export policy has moved sharply and repeatedly. Non-basmati white rice exports were banned, the ban was later lifted, a minimum export price was introduced, the parboiled export duty was cut from 20 percent to 10 percent and then removed altogether.

Volumes responded violently. Indian non-basmati shipments to Benin ran at 753,463 tonnes between October 2024 and January 2025, against 119,225 tonnes in the same period a year earlier — after which the destination market struggled with oversupply and falling prices.

Two practical consequences. First, confirm the current duty, minimum export price and permission position with DGFT at the point of contracting, and include a policy-change clause covering unshipped balances in any term contract — this is not boilerplate in Indian rice. Second, understand that a sudden policy loosening can flood your destination market, so a low price at the moment of contracting is not automatically a good trade if you are holding stock into a falling market.

Loading, ports and packing

Documentation

• Importer Exporter Code from DGFT; APEDA registration; FSSAI licence; mill certifications where required
• Certificate of analysis: process, broken percentage with definition, small brokens and chips, moisture, admixture, chalky, damaged and discoloured, paddy count, colour reference, degree of polish, crop year and ageing
• Cooking test result against the retained sample for Sona Masoori retail contracts
• Aflatoxin, heavy metals and pesticide residue reports against destination limits — including tricyclazole for EU-bound cargo
• Fortification certificate with premix composition, blending ratio and micronutrient verification where contracted
• Phytosanitary certificate; fumigation certificate with method, dosage and exposure
• Weight and quality certificate from the named independent surveyor at load port
• Certificate of origin; non-GMO and allergen statements; halal certification where the market requires
• Commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading declaring HS 1006.30 — confirm the eight-digit sub-heading with your broker, since parboiled, white and broken classify differently

How to qualify an Indian rice supplier

1. Say which variety and which process — raw, steam or parboiled — before discussing price.
2. Get the broken definition in writing, not just the percentage.
3. For Sona Masoori, state crop year and ageing, and require a cooking test against a retained sample.
4. For Sona Masoori, make varietal purity a named line with a maximum admixture figure.
5. Ask whether the counterparty operates its own mill and where it is — the southern belt for Sona Masoori is a meaningful answer.
6. Name the independent surveyor and agree the quality determination point.
7. Put a policy-change clause in any term contract and confirm the DGFT position on the contract date.

Frequently asked questions

Are IR64 and Sona Masoori interchangeable?

No. Different grain, different markets, different packing and different price logic. Contract them separately.

What does 5% broken mean?

Little, unless the contract also defines a broken as a fraction of whole grain length. Specify the percentage, the definition, and separate limits for small brokens and chips.

Why does ageing matter in Sona Masoori?

It decides how the rice cooks. Aged rice absorbs more water and cooks drier and more separate; new crop cooks softer. Specify crop year and ageing, and agree a cooking test.

What is the biggest Sona Masoori risk?

Admixture with cheaper similar-looking medium grains. Make varietal purity a named contract line with a maximum admixture percentage.

How risky is Indian export policy?

Real. Bans, minimum export prices and duty changes have all moved in recent years, and volumes swung sharply. Include a policy-change clause and confirm the DGFT position at contracting.

What is the HS code?

HS 1006.30 for milled rice. Confirm the eight-digit sub-heading with your broker; parboiled, white and broken classify differently.

• No. Different grain, different markets, different packing and different price logic. Contract them separately.
• Little, unless the contract also defines a broken as a fraction of whole grain length. Specify the percentage, the definition, and separate limits for small brokens and chips.
• It decides how the rice cooks. Aged rice absorbs more water and cooks drier and more separate; new crop cooks softer. Specify crop year and ageing, and agree a cooking test.
• Admixture with cheaper similar-looking medium grains. Make varietal purity a named contract line with a maximum admixture percentage.

Benin alone accounts for roughly 16 percent of India’s non-basmati share and functions as West Africa’s re-export hub, with Guinea around 12 percent, Togo 9 percent and Senegal 7 percent. Iraq and the UAE take a further share on parboiled preference. If you are buying for one of those markets, you are in the IR64 conversation. If you are packing retail bags for a South Asian community in Dallas or Dubai, you are in the Sona Masoori conversation, and the two should never be priced off each other.