Centre allows export of 14,000 tonnes of non-Basmati rice to Mauritius
The Central Government has approved the export of 14,000 tonnes of non-Basmati rice to Mauritius notwithstanding the ban on its shipment abroad.
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The Central Government has approved the export of 14,000 tonnes of non-Basmati rice to Mauritius notwithstanding the ban on its shipment abroad. According to the notification by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), 14,000 tonnes of non-Basmati white rice will be exported to Mauritius through National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL).
To ensure the domestic supply of rice and curb inflation, the central government banned the export of non-Basmati rice on July 20 last year. But keeping in mind the food security of friendly countries, the government allows export. This also happened in the case of onion, in which some exporters bought onions at very cheap prices and exported them to Gulf countries at higher prices.
Despite the export ban, India allowed rice exports to some African countries, including Tanzania, Djibouti and Guinea-Bissau. Apart from this, permission was also given to export non-Basmati rice to countries like Nepal, Cameroon, Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines and Seychelles. This type of export is being done through NCEL which is a cooperative society working under the Ministry of Cooperation. It is being promoted by major cooperative institutions of the country like IFFCO, KRIBHCO and NAFED.
The Agriculture Ministry had claimed a record production of 1357.55 lakh tonnes of rice in the country in the year 2022-23. But on the other hand, to control rising food inflation, the central government had banned the export of non-Basmati rice in July.
According to the second advance estimate for the year 2023-24 released by the Ministry of Agriculture, rice production in the country is estimated to be 1238.15 lakh tonnes this year. Due to less rain in the last monsoon, there may be a decrease in the rice production of the country, in view of which steps like export ban have been taken.
India may continue export ban on rice till October. India had become the world's largest rice exporter in the year 2022-23. But this year, in view of elections, grain production and food inflation, exports were banned.
