Government Likely to Remove Export Ban on Non-Basmati Rice, Indian Government Will Remove Export Ban on Non-Basmati Rice, Banned on Rice Exports in India, India May Lift Ban on Exports of Rice

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SME Times News Bureau | 24 Jun, 2010
After a year-long wait, rice exporters see a ray of hope of lifting ban on exports of non-basmati rice from October-November.

According to India's Trade Secretary, Rahul Khullar, India may lift a ban on exports of non-basmati rice only after assessing the size of the main summer-sown crop in October-November.

"When kharif (summer crop) is around the corner, and if it is a good crop, then I can tell you (about allowing exports)," Khullar told to a news agency recently.

The government had banned exports of non-basmati rice in April, 2008, as part of measures to control inflation. But basmati rice exports are allowed.

Rice exporters on have recently asked the government to allow export of high quality varieties of non-basmati rice like Ponni and Sharbati to provide better income to farmers.

India, the world's second-largest rice producer, banned exports of non-basmati, or common-grade, rice in 2007 to boost domestic supplies and curb prices.

But, private traders now want the government to lift the ban because the country's stocks are overflowing. Despite a drought last year, federal foodgrain stocks swelled to 60.42 million metric tons as of May 30, nearly four times the requirement, as high state-fixed prices tempted farmers to sell most of their produce to the government, rather than to private traders.

The country's rice production is expected to rise 12% to around 100 million tons during the 2010-11 crop year, starting July 1. Khullar said the government can utilize some of the bulging stocks of foodgrains for its welfare programs.