Gesture of friendship appreciated: S'pore on India exempting from rice ban

Singapore on Saturday thanked India for exempting the country from its rice ban, saying that "the gesture of strong friendship is very much appreciated".

"Singapore would like to thank GovIndia in particular @MEAIndia and @dgftindia for exempting us from the rice ban. Both countries are indeed close strategic partners. This gesture of strong friendship is very much appreciated," read a tweet on the Singapore Embassy in India's official account on 'X' formerly Twitter on Saturday.

India recently decided to allow the export of rice to Singapore to "meet the food security requirements" of the southeast nation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

"India and Singapore enjoy a very close strategic partnership, characterized by shared interests, close economic ties and strong people-to-people connect. In view of this special relationship, India has decided to allow the export of rice to meet the food security requirements of Singapore," MEA official spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi had said on Tuesday in response to media queries on rice export to Singapore.

India on August 27 introduced additional safeguards on exports of basmati rice so as to prevent exports of non-basmati white rice, which is presently under the prohibited category.

Earlier, the government said it had received credible field reports regarding misclassification and illegal export of non-basmati white rice.

"It has been reported that non-basmati white rice is being exported under the HS codes of parboiled rice and basmati rice," the government said in a statement.

Notably, the export of non-basmati white rice was prohibited from July 20 to check the domestic prices and ensure domestic food security. The government noticed that despite restrictions put on certain varieties, rice exports have been high during the current year.

The central government on July 20 amended the rice export norms putting the non-basmati white rice in the "prohibited" category.

The export policy relating to non-basmati white rice (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed) has been revised from "free" to "prohibited" and it has come into force immediately, a Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) notification said.