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Informist, Thursday, Mar. 6, 2025

 

--Govt source: Govt to allow exports of broken rice 

--CONTEXT: Govt had banned export of broken rice in Sept 2022 

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – The government is likely to allow exports of broken rice, a senior government official told Informist on the condition of anonymity. A notification in this regard is likely to be issued in the next two days, the official said. 

 

According to the official, the decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting that was held on Tuesday. India had banned exports of 100% broken rice in September 2022 and then imposed curbs on exports of all other rice grades in 2023 after low rainfall raised concern over supply. 

 

While the government last year removed the restrictions of minimum export price of $490 per tonne for non-basmati white rice and lifted the export ban on white rice, the government maintained the ban on 100% broken rice exports because of its usage for ethanol distilleries.

 

The decision of lifting the ban on broken rice export comes at a time when the country has been grappling with excess rice, with granaries bursting at the seams. The government, according to the Food Corp. of India, has a stockpile of about 34 million tonnes, the highest for a month in 12 years. The stock is much higher than the mandated buffer of 7.6 million tonnes, that is, operational stock of 5.6 million tonnes and strategic reserve of 2.0 million tonnes. 

 

Government's sales of rice in the open market have also found few takers, with not more than 50% of rice on offer being lifted in the weekly auctions conducted by the Food Corp. Amid piling stocks and storage constraints, the government has been encouraging the sale of rice to clear stocks and make room for rabi procurement.

 

As for ethanol blending, the government looks confident of achieving its target of 20% ethanol blending by 2025 and is confident of achieving this goal despite the removal of export ban. "We have a lot of rice in the country. Plus rice is not the only source that we depend on for ethanol blending. We have a wonderful maize crop this year which will be used to achieve the 20% ethanol blending target," the official said.  End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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