The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged India to remove export restrictions on non-basmati rice.
Key points
- The Government of India on July 20 banned the export of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season, which constitutes about 25% of the total rice export of the country.
- The total exports of non-basmati white rice from India was USD 4.2 million in 2022-23 as against USD 2.62 million in the preceding year.
- Major destinations of India’s non-basmati white rice exports include the US, Thailand, Italy, Spain, and Sri Lanka.
- The government has amended the export policy from ‘Free with export duty of 20%’ to ‘Prohibited’ with immediate effect.
- India is the world’s top rice exporter. India shipped a record 22.2 million tons of rice in 2022, accounting for more than 40% of global rice exports of 55.4 million tons.
- India exported mostly non-basmati rice in 2022. Out of the total 22.2 million tons of rice exports, 17.86 million tons were non-basmati rice, including 10.3 million tons of non-basmati white rice. India also imposed a 20% duty on some grades of rice in September 2022.
- India grows paddy rice twice a year. The summer-sown crop, which starts in June and accounts for more than 80% of the total output, was 135.5 million tons in 2022/23.
- The winter-sown crop is mainly grown in central and southern states.
- West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are key rice-producing states.
- To encourage more rice cultivation, India increased the minimum support price for common paddy by 7% to 2,183 rupees per 100 kg.
