Cabinet likely to lift ban on rice today

India, the world's second-biggest rice producer, may partly lift a ban on exports of the grain tomorrow, trade minister Kamal Nath said.

A meeting of the federal cabinet will consider a proposal to allow exports of rice costing more than $425 per tonne on a free on board basis, the minister told reporters in New Delhi.

"Lifting of the ban on rice priced above $425 a tonne will not affect supplies to the poor through the public distribution system," Nath said.

India, the world's second-biggest grower of rice, halted rice exports on October 9 to boost domestic supplies after demand for the grain for the government's welfare plans doubled in the past five years, according to the food ministry.