The Centre banned the export of non-basmati white rice on Thursday. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade underneath the Union Commerce Ministry introduced in a notification that the ban would come into impact instantly and exemptions can be given provided that the loading of non-basmati rice on the ship had commenced earlier than the notification or the delivery invoice was filed and vessels had already berthed or arrived and anchored in Indian ports. This selection of rice constitutes 25% of the whole rice export from the nation.
The Union Food Ministry, in a press release, mentioned the step was taken to guarantee satisfactory availability of non- basmati white rice within the home market and to curb the price rise. Non basmati rice was exported underneath the class ‘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 assertion added.
Export responsibility of 20% on non-basmati white rice was imposed final 12 months to decrease the price and to guarantee availability within the home 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 mentioned including that in 2023-24, about 15.54 LMT of this selection of rice was exported in opposition to solely 11.55 LMT throughout in 2022-23, a rise 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 mentioned.
The Ministry added that there was no change within the export coverage of non-basmati rice (par boiled rice) and basmati rice, which varieties the majority of rice exports. “This will ensure that the farmers continue to get the benefit of remunerative prices in the international market,” the Ministry added.