Govt imposes 20 per cent export duty on parboiled rice

The government has imposed a 20 per cent duty on the export of parboiled rice, a move aimed at maintaining adequate local stock and keep domestic prices under check. The export duty, imposed on August 25, will remain effective till October 16, 2023, the Finance Ministry said in a notification.

Duty exemption would be available on parboiled rice lying in customs ports which have not been granted LEO (let export order) and are backed by valid LCs (Letter of Credit) before August 25, 2023.

With these curbs, India has now imposed restrictions on all varieties on non-basmati rice. Non-basmati white rice constitutes about 25 per cent of the total rice exported from the country. Last month, the government banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season. In September last year, exports of broken rice were prohibited.

In the April-June period of this fiscal, about 15.54 lakh tonnes of non-basmati white rice was exported against only 11.55 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

The ban on exports of non-basmati white rice was imposed due to the rise in prices of the foodgrain and higher exports. The annual retail or consumer price inflation has touched a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, against 4.87 per cent in June, amid a sharp spike in food prices.

A week back, India had imposed 40 per cent export duty on onion to increase domestic availability.

India’s total exports of basmati rice stood at USD 4.8 billion in 2022-23 in terms of price, while in volume terms it was at 45.6 lakh tonnes. Exports of non-basmati stood at USD 6.36 billion in the last fiscal. In volume terms, it was 177.9 lakh tonnes. India’s rice production is estimated to have risen to 135.54 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) from 129.47 million tonnes in the previous year, according to the agriculture ministry data.