Govt extends 20% tax on exports of parboiled rice until March 2024

The government on Friday extended the duty on export of parboiled rice by over five months till March 31.

The 20 per cent export duty on parboiled rice was imposed on August 25 till October 16 to maintain adequate local stock and keep domestic prices under check.

The finance ministry through a notification extended the duty till March 31, 2024.

With these curbs, India has now imposed restrictions on all varieties on non-basmati rice.

Non-basmati white rice constitutes about 25 per cent of the total rice exported from the country.

In July, the government banned export of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season.

In September last year, exports of broken rice were prohibited. In the April-June period this fiscal, about 15.54 lakh tonnes of non-basmati white rice was exported against only 11.55 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

The ban on exports of non-basmati white rice was imposed due to the rise in prices of the foodgrain and higher exports.

The annual retail or consumer price inflation was at a three-month low of 5.02 per cent in September. India's total exports of basmati rice stood at USD 4.8 billion in 2022-23, while in volume terms it was at 45.6 lakh tonnes.

Exports of non-basmati stood at USD 6.36 billion in the last fiscal. In volume terms, it was 177.9 lakh tonnes.

India's rice production is estimated to have risen to 135.54 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) from 129.47 million tonnes in the previous year, according to the agriculture ministry data.