India will export 2 lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice to Malaysia despite the ban on rice exports. Malaysia’s Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani had requested India to supply rice, after which India will sell rice to Malaysia through National Cooperative Exports Limited.
India had banned the export of non-basmati rice in July 2023 in view of the rising inflation of rice in the domestic market. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification stating that rice will be exported to Malaysia despite the ban.
When the announcement of rice export to Malaysia was made, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was in India. Ibrahim was on a state visit to India from 19-21 August during which many bilateral agreements were signed between the two countries. The new consignment of rice will provide great relief to India’s major rice buyer.
Rice was exported to Malaysia last year too
India also exported rice to Malaysia despite the ban in October 2023. 170,000 tonnes of non-basmati white rice was sent to Malaysia.
Apart from Malaysia, India has been sending rice to many countries on their request despite the export ban. These include countries like Nepal, Cote d’lvoire, Guinea, Philippines, Seychelles, UAE, Singapore, Comoros, Madagascar, Egypt, Kenya and Tanzania.
While changing the rice export policy, DGFT had initially said that if a country is unable to meet its food requirements and its government requests the Indian government, then rice will be exported to it after government permission.
West African country Benin is one of the top buyers of Indian non-basmati rice. Countries like UAE, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Togo, Senegal, Vietnam, Madagascar, Malaysia also buy rice in large quantities from India.
ban on basmati rice
In August last year, India had imposed some restrictions on the export of Basmati rice. Announcing the ban, the government had said that the export of Basmati rice is allowed at a price of more than $1200 per tonne, while Basmati cannot be exported at a price lower than this.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)