Govt allows STC, MMTC to export 84,000tn rice

The government today allowed shipment of 84,000 tonne rice to Comoros, Madagascar and Mauritius by exempting the shipments from the ban on non-Basmati rice exports.

"The prohibition imposed on export of non-Basmati rice shall not be applicable to exports of 50,000 tonne rice to Madagascar through STC, and 25,000 tonne rice to Comoros and 9,000 tonne rice to Mauritius through MMTC," Director General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

The government had banned exports of non-Basmati rice on October 9, 2007 to build buffer stock and improve domestic supplies. Following complaints from exporters, the ban was partially lifted on October 25 by fixing the minimum export price (MEP) at $425 per tonne. The government raised the MEP to $500 per tonne during the last week of December to discourage exports.

India had exported 3.7 million tonne of non-Basmati rice worth Rs 4,258 crore in 2006-07.