No plans to ban or curb export of rice, says Centre amid speculation
The government has no plans to ban or impose curbs on export of either basmati or non-basmati rice as the country has sufficient supplies and prices are under control, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
The comments come amid reports of regulating overseas sale of rice after the government banned wheat exports and capped shipment of sugar at 10 million tonnes in the ongoing 2021-22 marketing year (October-September) as a precautionary step to check local prices.
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“There is no move to regulate the export of any kind of rice. There is enough supply in our godowns and even with private traders. Domestic prices are also under control as of now,” the official told PTI.
India, the world’s second-largest rice producer after China, had exported non-basmati rice worth $6.11 billion in 2021-22, up from $4.8 billion in 2020-21, according to official data.
The country exported non-basmati rice to over 150 countries in 2021-22.
West African country Benin is one of the major importers of non-basmati rice from India.
Other destinations include Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Cote D Ivoire, Togo, Senegal, Guinea, Vietnam, Djibouti, Madagascar, Cameroon Somalia, Malaysia, Liberia and UAE.
India’s thrust on expanding port handling infrastructure, development of value chain, involving key stakeholders along with efforts to explore new opportunities in countries or markets for rice exports in the last couple of years have led to a huge spike in rice exports.
The major rice-producing states are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Assam, and Haryana.
As per Second Advance Estimates for 2021-22, the total rice production 2021-22 is estimated at a record 127.93 million tonne, which is 11.49 million tonne higher than the last five years’ average production of 116.44 million tonnes, it added.
(With Agency inputs)
