India’s policy of banning some food exports will not change for now

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International Business News – Recently, the Indian government said that India’s rice production has declined momentum, will therefore tighten food exports. This summer, India’s drought in many places, while some areas suffered floods, multiple factors led to a significant reduction in rice production in India, for domestic food security considerations, India said that the policy of banning some food exports will not change for the time being.

This year, there are droughts in many parts of northern India, and the major rice producing states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal are the most severely affected by drought. In Bihar, for example, as much as one-fifth of the farmland is affected by the drought, and among the 23 reservoirs, only three reservoirs have water levels exceeding 40 percent of their maximum capacity. Officials from India’s food sector said the four states were affected by the drought over a total area of 2.5 million hectares, resulting in a reduction in rice production of 7 million to 8 million tons. And by this winter, it is expected that the area under rice cultivation may be reduced by 3.8 million hectares, so that rice may be reduced by another 10-12 million tons.

It is reported that India is the world’s largest rice exporter, with annual exports accounting for 41% of the world’s total rice exports. Official data show that this year, India’s domestic price of broken rice once soared 38%, while exports also went all the way up, from April to August, exports jumped from 1.58 million tons a year ago to 2.13 million tons. On the 9th of this month, the Indian government ordered a ban on the export of broken rice, which is mostly used as feed for livestock and poultry farming. Affected by the export ban, the market is well supplied with broken rice and prices have fallen. In terms of food exports, not all types of rice are banned.

Currently, India imposes a 20% tariff on the export of rice other than fragrant rice. Previously in May this year, India has ordered a ban on the export of wheat. The Indian government hopes that through this series of measures to ensure domestic food supply.