Israel-Iran war: Adani Wilmar, GRM Overseas to Kaveri Seeds — why are rice exporter stocks under pressure?

Iran-Israel war: Shares of several rice exporters came under pressure on Thursday as the war between Iran and Israel showed no signs of de-escalation. AWL Agri Business (now known as Adani Wilmar), KRBL, LT Foods, Kaveri Seeds and GRM Overseas are among the key stocks that faced a decline of up to 3% today.

India is one of the biggest exporters of rice, with the Middle East among its biggest buyers. India exported 198.65 lakh tonnes of rice till March 25 of the last fiscal year, surpassing the outward shipment of 163.58 lakh tonnes in the entire 2023-24 financial year.

A TOI report, citing the Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Agency (APEDA), stated that Iran ranks as the third-largest basmati rice exporter, following Saudi Arabia and Iraq. India's basmati rice exports to Iran were valued at ₹6,374 crore in FY25, representing 12.6% of India's total basmati exports for that period.

However, with the tensions in the region, the supply has taken a hit, prices have declined, while freight costs have increased amid shipment issues, raising concerns for India's rice exporters.

Rice exporters' stocks in the red

Against this backdrop, Adani Wilmar share price declined 3% to ₹255.80 apiece while Kaveri Seeds lost 2.26% to ₹1,256.15 per share. LT Foods also shed 3.30% to ₹423.45. Other stocks such as KRBL and GRM Overseas declined 0.67%-0.96% in trade today.

KRBL, LT Foods and Kaveri Seeds shares are down 6% over the last five days as the Iran-Israel conflict entered its seventh day. GRM Overseas, on the other hand, is up 7% during this period.

In the latest sign of flare up, a hospital in southern Israel and two towns near Tel Aviv were struck after a barrage of Iranian missiles on Thursday morning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran would "pay a heavy price" after the strike on Soroka Hospital in Beersheba in southern Israel, while Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army had been ordered to "intensify" strikes on Iran, AFP reported.

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