Possibility of giving some relief in the export ban on non-basmati white rice

29-Aug-2024 07:56 PM

New Delhi. The Union Minister of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution has said that in view of the surplus stock in the central pool and the increase in the area of ​​Kharif Kain paddy, the government is considering giving some relaxation or relief in the ban imposed on the export of non-basmati white (raw) rice for more than a year.

It is worth mentioning that the commercial export of this category of rice has been banned since July 20, 2023, while exporters have been repeatedly urging to remove it.

Farmers, traders and exporters will benefit if the export ban is relaxed. The demand for Indian rice in the global market is very strong and exporters want to take advantage of this opportunity.

Such a decision of the government will also provide relief to the rice importing countries, which are currently facing great difficulty due to the export ban and are asking the Government of India to relax the ban.

At present, only Basmati rice and non-Basmati Sela rice are being exported from India. There is an export duty of 20 percent on Sela rice while the minimum export price (MAP) for Basmati rice is fixed at $950 per tonne.

On the other hand, the export of 100 percent broken rice and non-Basmati white rice has been completely stopped.

According to the Food Minister, everyone knows what happened last year due to El Nino, but despite that, food inflation was kept under control.

Despite the possible negative effects of El Nino, there was a good production of paddy last year.

Now there is a demand to allow the export of non-Basmati white rice and this can be considered. The government has a huge outstanding surplus stock of rice.

New paddy will start arriving from October, due to which the stock of rice in government warehouses will also increase regularly. Supply and availability will also increase in the domestic market.