New Delhi:

The government today said it has permitted exports of 10,34,800 tonnes of non-basmati white rice to seven countries, including Nepal, Cameroon and Malaysia.

The export is permitted through National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

Though exports of non-basmati white rice were banned on July 20 to boost domestic supply, exports are allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to certain countries to meet their food security needs and on request.

“Export of non-basmati white rice… to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote D’ Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Seychelles is notified,” it said.

The quantity notified for Nepal is 95,000 tonnes, Cameroon (1,90,000 tonnes), Cote D’ Ivore (1,42,000 tonnes), Guinea (1,42,000 tonnes), Malaysia (1,70,000 tonnes), Philippines (2,95,000 tonnes), and Seychelles (800 tonnes).
 

The government has imposed a 20% duty on the export of parboiled rice, a move aimed at maintaining adequate local stock and keep domestic prices under check.

The export duty, imposed on August 25, will remain effective till October 16, 2023, the Finance Ministry said in a notification.

Duty exemption would be available on parboiled rice lying in customs ports which have not been granted LEO (let export order) and are backed by valid LCs (Letter of Credit) before August 25, 2023.

With these curbs, India has now imposed restrictions on all varieties on non-basmati rice. Non-basmati white rice constitutes about 25% of the total rice exported from the country.

Also read | Centre bans export of non-basmati white rice to check price rise

Last month, the government banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season. In September last year, exports of broken rice were prohibited.

In the April-June period of this fiscal, about 15.54 lakh tonnes of non-basmati white rice was exported against only 11.55 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

The ban on exports of non-basmati white rice was imposed due to the rise in prices of the foodgrain and higher exports.

The annual retail or consumer price inflation has touched a 15-month high of 7.44% in July, against 4.87% in June, amid a sharp spike in food prices.

A week back, India had imposed 40% export duty on onion to increase domestic availability.

India’s total exports of basmati rice stood at $4.8 billion in 2022-23 in terms of price, while in volume terms it was at 45.6 lakh tonnes.

Exports of non-basmati stood at $6.36 billion in the last fiscal. In volume terms, it was 177.9 lakh tonnes.

India’s rice production is estimated to have risen to 135.54 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) from 129.47 million tonnes in the previous year, according to the agriculture ministry data.

The domestic prices of rice are on an increasing trend. 
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Centre banned the export of non-basmati white rice on Thursday. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the Union Commerce Ministry announced in a notification that the ban would come into effect immediately and exemptions would be given only if the loading of non-basmati rice on the ship had commenced before the notification or the shipping bill was filed and vessels had already berthed or arrived and anchored in Indian ports. This variety of rice constitutes 25% of the total rice export from the country.

The Union Food Ministry, in a statement, said the step was taken to ensure adequate availability of non- basmati white rice in the domestic market and to curb the price rise. Non basmati rice was exported under the category ‘Free with export duty of 20%’. “The domestic prices of rice are on an increasing trend. The retail prices have increased by 11.5% over a year and 3% over the past month,” the statement added.

Export duty of 20% on non-basmati white rice was imposed last year to lower the price and to ensure availability in the domestic market. “However, the export of this variety increased from 33.66 lakh metric tonnes (September-March 2021-22) to 42.12 LMT (September-March 2022-23) even after imposition of 20% export duty,” the Centre said adding that in 2023-24, about 15.54 LMT of this variety of rice was exported against only 11.55 LMT during in 2022-23, an increase by 35%. “This sharp increase in exports can be ascribed to high international prices due to geo-political scenario, El Nino sentiments and extreme climatic conditions in other rice-producing countries, etc,” the Ministry said.

The Ministry added that there was no change in the export policy of non-basmati rice (par boiled rice) and basmati rice, which forms the bulk of rice exports. “This will ensure that the farmers continue to get the benefit of remunerative prices in the international market,” the Ministry added.