No plan as of now to restrict exports of par-boiled rice: Food Secy

New Delhi: There is no proposal, as of now, to restrict exports of par-boiled non-basmati rice, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Tuesday.

On July 20, the central 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.

"There is no proposal as of now to restrict par-boiled rice exports," Chopra told reporters here when asked whether the government was considering banning exports or imposing an export duty on par-boiled rice to curb outward shipments and control prices.

As per the commerce ministry data, India's total exports of basmati rice stood at USD 4.8 billion in 2022-23, while in volume terms it was at 45.6 lakh tonnes.

Similarly, exports of non-basmati stood at USD 6.36 billion in the last fiscal. In volume terms, it was 177.9 lakh tonnes.

"Non-Basmati white rice constitutes about 25 per cent of total rice exported from the country. The prohibition on export of non-basmati white rice will lead to lowering of prices for the consumers in the country," the food ministry had said last month.

The ministry had then asserted that "there is no change in export policy of non-basmati rice (par-boiled rice) and basmati rice, which forms the bulk of rice exports".

The ban on exports of non-basmati white rice was imposed due to the rise in prices of the foodgrain and higher exports. 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.

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.

Chopra also said the government currently has no plans to import wheat from Russia through diplomatic channels.

To control retail prices, the central government had banned exports of wheat in May last year. Wheat production rose to 112.74 million tonnes in 2022-23 from 107.74 million tonnes in the previous year.