NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: India may introduce a floor price for basmati rice exports, sources familiar with the matter said, after New Delhi last month ordered a halt to non-basmati white rice shipments, its largest rice export category.

India could fix the floor price, or the minimum export price, for basmati rice shipments at $1,200 a metric tone, they said. The minimum export price would help authorities ensure that non-basmati rice is not exported as basmati rice, they said.

India and Pakistan exclusively grow premium, aromatic basmati rice. India ships out around 4 million metric tons of basmati rice to countries such as Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Last month, India surprised buyers by imposing a ban on the export of widely consumed non-basmati white rice, following a ban on broken rice exports last year.