KANPUR, July 9 -- The ongoing conflict in West Asia has significantly disrupted rice exports from Uttar Pradesh, resulting in plummeting demand, stalled payments, and sharp price declines. Exporters and rice mill owners report that prices of both Basmati and non-Basmati rice have dropped by over 30%, while payment channels to key buyers like Iran remain severely affected. Exporters say that demand from West Asia has fallen sharply as importers have halted purchases amid the conflict. Anand Kumar Gupta from Bindki and Manoj Gandhi from Fatehpur town, both traders with large export operations, said that they earlier exported rice milled directly from local paddy to West Asian buyers. "With exports halted, the demand has plummeted while production continues. Prices from paddy to milled rice have dropped. This hurts millers like us, reduces government revenue, and directly impacts farmers, who are getting lower rates," Gupta said. He added that farmers could not afford to store their harvest in the hope of better prices and were left with no option but to sell at a loss. District marketing officer Vinod Kumar Kaithal, posted in Fatehpur, confirmed that orders from West Asian buyers had stopped compared to last year. "This year, farmers could not secure better open-market prices for paddy due to reduced exports. Lower purchases and exports are also hurting millers and revenue has also declined," Kaithal said. Deepak Agnihotri, a rice mill owner in Mainpuri, said the market for Basmati 1718 variety had seen prices drop from around Rs 70 per kg to Rs 56 before recovering slightly to Rs 61. He noted that the government's earlier procurement of levy rice and provision of paddy for milling had supported mills, but low processing fees of just Rs 10 per quintal forced many to shut down....