Centre’s curbs on rice exports to hit farmers

The curbs on non-Basmati varieties, which the Centre has been claiming to be a temporary measure, but likely to be in force for over six months, were expected to have a dampening effect on spirits of the growers.

Hyderabad: The Centre’s ban on rice exports is threatening to have a de-motivating effect on paddy farmers in general. It is more so with Telangana paddy farmers, who have been adding substantially to the productivity as well as production year after year.

The curbs on non-Basmati varieties, which the Centre has been claiming to be a temporary measure, but likely to be in force for over six months, were expected to have a dampening effect on spirits of the growers. The impact of the ban would not be limited to farmers alone, with millers not to be an exception.

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It will be have the bearing even on government agencies which have gone all out to purchase over 65 lakh tons of Yasangi paddy from growers in the State. All States that are considered to be principal producers of non-basmati varieties would have the same experience.

Losing space to competitors in the export market will ultimately impact growers in the long run to that extent, says a major miller from the State. As the ban came into effect on July 20, rice consumers in over 20 to 30 countries started switching over to parboiled rice.

Currently, only exports of basmati which were in the range of 4.56 MT in 2022-23 and parboiled non-basmati rice that touched 7.85 MT last year, were being allowed. Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh account for about 50 percent of India’s export of white rice and parboiled rice.

When it comes to Telangana, its share of parboiled rice exports is on the higher side, and it is the only point of advantage for the State, said a major rice exporter from the State.

AP’s share of raw rice exports was relatively higher and with the window of raw rice exports being closed, though temporarily, it would stand to lose more, he added. The very word export ‘ban’ is not at all good news for the producer, and the impact may well force him to switch over to other crops.

Indian rice exports were in the order of 17.29 million tons last year under the three categories. Now that the raw rice and the raw broken shipments are banned, the exporters are left with the option of parboiled, that is freely exportable.

In this backdrop the shipments are expected to come down to only 10 million tons, according to sources from TREA (The Rice Exporters Association). They said India holds a 45 percent share of the international trade on non–Basmati rice.