The world’s largest rice exporter seeks to control domestic prices
India has no plans to lift a ban on broken rice exports and cut a 20 percent tax on overseas shipments of white rice, two government sources said on Thursday, as the world’s largest rice exporter seeks to control domestic prices.
New Delhi’s restrictions on rice exports will force buyers, especially in Asia and Africa, to pay more for the staple, which has become very expensive in the past few weeks.
India banned the export of broken rice and imposed a 20% duty on exports of various other types in September 2022 amid concerns regarding production due to below-average monsoon rains in major rice-producing states.
“Rice exports have not slowed down despite the 20% export duty, and for this reason we believe there is no reason to reduce or eliminate the fee,” said a senior government official, who asked not to be named.
India’s rice exports rose 3.5% to a record 22.26 million tons in 2022. This was more than the combined shipments of the four largest exporters following India: Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United States.
“We cannot resume exports of broken rice just because someone in China or any other country wants it as raw material to make ethanol or as livestock feed. We prefer it to be consumed by our domestic industry,” the official said.
