India to ship first consignment of common grade rice to China

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will send its first consignment of common grade rice to China on Friday, the government said, following intense lobbying by New Delhi after relations thawed between the two countries.

A consignment of 100 tonnes would be shipped to China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp (COFCO), one of China's state-owned food processing holding companies, India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on Thursday.

China is a leading importer of rice and sugar, while India is the world's biggest exporter of rice.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi finalised an amended agreement in June related to the export of non-basmati varieties of rice from India to China.

New Delhi is concerned about its rising trade deficit with China, and has sought greater access to the world's second-largest economy for agricultural products including rapeseed, soybeans and sugar.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)