Broken rice export in transit to go on till Sept 30 with conditions

NEW DELHI: Exports of broken rice will be now allowed till September 30, including for where loading of broken rice on the ship has commenced before the initial ban order came into effect, where the shipping bill is filed and vessels have already berthed or arrived and anchored in Indian ports and their rotation number has been allocated, and where broken rice consignment has been handed over to the customs and is registered in their system, a new notification by Directorate General of Foreign Trade said.

Earlier, it was allowed till September 15. On September 9, India banned the export of broken rice with immediate effect. The export policy for the commodity was revised from "free" to "prohibited".

The ban on exports assumes significance as it appeared that the overall sown area under paddy this Kharif season could be lower than that of last year. This can have an impact on both crop prospects as well as prices going forward.

Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution on the same day the export was banned told reporters that an abnormal rise in exports and lower availability of broken rice in domestic markets pushed the central government to put a ban on its trade.

Pandey said the price of broken rice which was around Rs 15-16 (per kg) increased to Rs 22 and its overall exports rose 3 times. As a result, broken rice was neither available for poultry feed nor for the manufacturing of ethanol. Broken rice is widely used as feed in the poultry sector.

"The contribution of the feed is about 60 per cent as cost on input to the poultry sector. So the prices will get pushed," Pandey said.

This Kharif season, the area under paddy cultivation is around 5-6 per cent lower than the previous season. Kharif crops are mostly sown during monsoon -June and July, and the produce is harvested during October and November.

The primary reason for the decline in the sown area could be attributed to the slow advancement of the monsoon in the month of June and its uneven spread in July in some growing key regions in the country.

Crop diversification could possibly be another reason. Secretary Pandey said India's Kharif rice production, in the worst-case scenario, could fall by 10-12 million tonnes.

Also, the Centre imposed a 20 per cent export duty on non-Basmati rice, except for parboiled rice, to boost domestic supplies. The export duty had come in force from September 9.