The government is closely monitoring the rice scenario in domestic market as well as in international forum on weekly basis and can increase the country’s percentage share in global rice trade when favourable conditions arise, the Commerce & Industry Ministry stated in a reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. 

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India was the largest rice exporting country in the world in the 2018-2022 period, followed by Thailand and Vietnam, but had to prohibit export of broken rice and non-basmati white rice in view of uncertainty around rice production in India and other rice producing countries due to geo-political scenario, El Nino sentiments and extreme climatic conditions, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

Domestic prices

The government also wanted to control domestic prices and to ensure adequate availability of such rice in the domestic market for delivery to the common man., she said.

While prohibiting the export of broken rice and non-basmati white rice, the government has taken a policy decision that export of such rice will be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the Centre to other countries to meet their food security needs based on the request of their governments, she added.  

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Rice export from India was 22.24 million tonne in 2022, which accounts for 40.63 per cent of the world’s rice exports.

Export of broken rice has been prohibited from September 2022 and non-basmati white rice from July 2023.