The delay in removing the MEP on basmati rice has seen Indian exporters lose market share to their Pakistani competitors who had their MEP removed in late 2008 and have benefited from a dramatic depreciation of the Pakistani currency vis-a-vis the Indian rupee (Slayton, 2009). India's share of world rice exports fell from 19% in 2007 (averaging 15% during 2004-06) to just 7% in 2009. However, during the rice price crisis in early 2008 China did not respond to the public and private appeals that it use its growing rice surpluses to partially fill the gap created by the exit of India and Vietnam from the market (Slayton, 2009). China delayed issuing export quotas and shipped out only 56 000 tonnes at the peak of the market during April-June 2008, down from 167 000 tonnes during the same period a year earlier.