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LT Foods: Huge demand for Basmati

The Middle East is one of the biggest markets for Indian basmati rice

LT Foods, a leading Indian basmati exporter, has been in the business for more than 50 years now.
"Our first export container was sent to the Middle East in 1989," recalls Ashwani Arora, Managing Director and CEO of the company. "The company revenue was just Rs30 million then. Today, it is Rs30 billion."
The Middle East is one of the biggest markets for Indian basmati rice. About 65 per cent of the company's exports are to the Middle East, with Dubai being the major market.
"Our strong markets are India, U.S. and the Middle East," explains Arora. According to him, demand from the Middle East is expanding at 10 per cent annually. Many countries in the Middle East, including Iran and Iraq are also moving from ordinary rice to Basmati varieties, he adds.
LT Foods has set up a processing plant in the Netherlands. According to Arora, about 90 per cent of its business is accounted for by Basmati rice.
"Over the next five years our plan is to grow our core," says Arora. "We want to be a billion-dollar company by then." Basmati rice would account for about $700 million of turnover and the rest would be from organic and other products.
Currently, the company exports 60 per cent of its products. However, with Basmati consumption growing in India, he sees huge demand from the domestic market. "As per capita income increases, demand for Basmati rice will also grow," says Arora.
The company has a full-fledged sales and marketing office in Dubai for the last 10 years.