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New Delhi: The government of India imposed a ban on the export of wheat last month. This decision was announced owing to the inadequate stock of the crop due to less than usual yield in the current year. The inflationary pressure due to ongoing Russia Ukraine war has also forced the government to impose the ban. Russia and Ukraine are the biggest suppliers of the crop to the world. Since the war broke out in February, the supply has been deeply impacted.
After wheat, several people are anticipating a similar ban on rice as well. Will the government ban rice exports as well. Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey has clarified the same.
According to a report by Mint, Pandey said, “We have more than sufficient stocks of rice, so there is no plan to consider this.” It must be noted that India is the largest exporter of rice to the world. Various countries across the world depend heavily on Indian rice. Any ban on its export might put a lot of pressure on these countries, which are already fighting high inflation due to the war.
The IMD has predicted that India will see normal monsoon this year. This means that the rice yield is expected to be normal too. It might help the country maintain its dominant position in the market.
According to the report, India’s rice exports in 2021 stood at 21.5 million tonnes. This was more than the exports by the next four exporters on the list namely Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the US. India is also the world’s second-largest consumer of rice in the world, second only to China.
In 2007, when the country announced a ban on exports of rice, global rice prices shot up sharply. India exports rice to over 150 countries across the globe.
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