India Bans Export of Broken Rice
The duty will affect white and brown rice, which account for more than 60% of India's exports: B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association.
New Delhi: In view of below-average monsoon rainfall, India on Thursday, banned exports of broken rice and imposed a 20 per cent customs duty on exports of various grades of rice.
According to a Reuters report, this step has been taken to give relief to the local customers by controlling the local prices of rice of various grades and also to procure more supplies with the incoming capital from the duties imposed on a variety of grades of rice.
Notably, India is the largest exporter of rice in the world and exports rice to over 150 countries in the world, reducing the shipments would lead to upward pressure on the food prices which are already seeing a record high because of drought, heat waves, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The new duty imposed on various grades of rice may divert the customers from India to countries like Vietnam and Thailand to procure rice. These countries are already facing problems like struggling to increase shipments and raise prices.
Vietnam already started buying high-grade rice from India and also has sown these high varieties in their fields which have augmented great results. As per the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Vietnam witnessed a 74% growth in rice cultivation after procuring high-end seeds from India.
The government of India though kept parboiled and Basmati rice away from the export duty which is slated to come into effect from September 9.
The government has issued a 100 per cent ban on broken rice which many poor African nations like Ghana import from India but is mostly imported by other countries in the world for feed purchases of poultry.
''The duty will affect white and brown rice, which account for more than 60 per cent of India's exports. With this duty, Indian rice shipments will become uncompetitive in the world market. Buyers will shift to Thailand and Vietnam," Reuters quoted B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association.
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