The fact that India imposed curbs on exports of wheat and sugar this month has led to concern that rice could be next on the list.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday analysts felt it was a matter of time before restrictions on rice exports were considered.
However, officials have dismissed the fears.
Reuters reported on Friday that officials felt the country had adequate stocks of rice. “We have more than sufficient stocks of rice and there is no concern at all in terms of either prices or availability for exports and domestic requirements... At this stage, there is no consideration at all to prohibit rice exports,” a senior government official told Reuters.
India is the biggest exporter of rice and second-biggest consumer of the staple. “Rice exports from India jumped to a record 21.2 million tonnes in the fiscal year to March 2022 from 17.8 million tonnes the previous year,” Reuters reported.
B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association, told Reuters “There is no need to put any restriction on rice exports. Wheat output and prices were affected due to the war in Ukraine, but... the Black Sea region is neither a major producer nor consumer of rice.”
Stocks of milled and rice paddy with Food Corporation of India “totalled 66.22 million tonnes against a target of 13.58 million tonnes”, Reuters reported. “FCI's procurement is going up, and that is an indication that there's no shortage, so there is no logic for any ban on rice exports,” Rao said.
Economic Times reported a committee headed by the Prime Minister's Office was doing a “product-by-product” analysis of essential commodities, including non-Basmati rice.
Suvodeep Rakshit, senior economist at Kotak Institutional Equities, explained to Bloomberg, “A decision to limit rice exports will depend on how prices fare in the coming weeks. If the monsoon is erratic and rice prices jump, it’s likely that exports will be curbed...”
