Indian Rice Exporters’ Federation highlights recovery gains

The Indian Rice Exporters’ Federation (IREF) has stated that improving rice recovery rates could significantly increase earnings for millers. Rather than focusing solely on expanding processing capacity, the federation suggests that shifting just one percentage point from broken grain to whole grain could potentially add Rs 60 lakh in annual sales for a mill processing 30,000 tonnes of paddy.

These findings and strategies for improving milling margins will be a central topic at the Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC) 2026, scheduled for October 23-25 in New Delhi. A specific session titled “Profitable Rice Milling: Costs, Planning and Margin Improvement” will take place on October 24 at Bharat Mandapam to examine plant design, operating costs, and capacity gaps.

Deepak Goyal, Vice President (Basmati) of IREF and Director of Mahavir Rice Mill, emphasized the need to retain more value from every tonne of rice through better drying, technology, and utilization. The conference is also expected to present a model rice mill setup cost for the 2026-27 period, detailing requirements for machinery, storage, and infrastructure.