Five more Indian non-basmati rice mills cleared for export to China

Five more Indian rice mills have been cleared by Chinese authorities for exporting non-basmati rice to the neighbouring country, the commerce ministry said Thursday.

Now, a total of 24 rice mills have been authorised to export the commodity to China, it said.

The first consignment of 100 tonnes non-basmati rice was shipped to China, from Nagpur, in September.

In May this year, officials from China inspected rice mills that are capable of exporting non-basmati rice to China and 19 rice mills and processing units were registered for exports, it said in a statement.

China is the world's largest producer and importer of rice and buys more than 5 million tonnes per year.

There is potential for India to export 1 million tonnes of rice to China in a few years, it added.

India's total rice exports increased to 12.7 million tonnes last fiscal from 10.8 million tonnes in the previous financial year. This allowed India to retain the top slot in global trade of the commodity.