After wheat, India bans export of broken rice to tame food inflation
PremiumThe government on Thursday had imposed a 20% duty on non-basmati rice exports of three varieties including paddy, husked (brown) rice and semi-milled rice
NEW DELHI: Months after banning wheat exports, the Union government on Friday prohibited exports of broken rice, with immediate effect, aimed at taming food inflation. Earlier, the Centre had imposed a 20% duty on export of paddy, husked (brown) rice, and semi-milled rice.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said rice consignments will be allowed to be shipped till 15 September if loading began prior to the order and in those cases where the shipping bill has been filed and vessels have arrived at their destination.
The notification added that broken rice consignments “have been handed over to the customs" before the notification and is registered with the system will also be exempt from the ban .
Food grain stocks with Food Corp. of India (FCI) are at their lowest in five years. As on 16 August, rice and wheat stocks in the central pool together stood at 52.3 million tonne.
Wheat stock as on 16 August stood at 25.99 million tonnes. The previous low was 24.38 million tonnes in 2008, as per official data.
The government on Thursday had imposed a 20% duty on rice exports of three varieties including paddy, husked (brown) rice and semi-milled rice but not on basmati rice.
Economists noted that the southwest monsoon rains, by the end of August, were 6% above normal and that rainfall was adequate during the Kharif planting season from July to August but the spatial distribution of rains has been the weakest in a decade.
“Nearly 70% of the gross sown area received normal rainfall, similar to the drought year of 2009. By the end of 3-months of the season, 14% and 16% of the gross sown area received deficit and surplus rainfall, respectively.
As of 2 September, acreage under kharif, or summer sown, crops stood at 1053 lakh hectares, down 3% year. “Apart from deficit rains in the eastern states that adversely impacted paddy acreage, recording a drop of 8% YoY, surplus rainfall also adversely affected acreage of jowar, arhar, moong, and groundnut," Sachchidanand Shukla - Chief Economist, Mahindra & Mahindra, said.
Area under rice, the summer staple, was 5.6% lower on year at 38.3 million hectares and also lower than the five-year average of 39.7 million hectares.
Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) cooled to a five-month low of 6.71% in July from 7.01% in the previous month, amid improved supplies of vegetables and easing edible oil prices. However, despite the moderation, inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit of 6% across all the months this year.
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