India is not ready to lift its ban on the exports of non-basmati rice despite an anticipated bumper harvest of the grain this season.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said the ban on exports of non-basmati rice would continue, although India's farm output was expected to increase this time around.
"No ban on basmati rice but ban on exports of non-basmati rice will continue because we have to protect consumers and farmers. Rice price in the country is also high," he told Bernama on the sidelines of the Economic Editor's Conference here today.
India, the world's second largest rice exporter, after Vietnam, expects rice production to rise from 93.35 million tonnes to 96.43 million tonnes during the 2007/2008 period.
Good rainfall last monsoon had aided farmers to reap better harvest, with overall food grains production to increase to an all-time record level of 230.67 million tonnes during the same period.
Indian farmers produce nearly 94 million tonnes of rice annually, out of which about four million tonnes are exported.
The rise in domestic price is due to the combined factors like growing demand following increasing population, change in consumption pattern, diversion of food grains for fuel and adverse weather conditions.
The Indian government had procured a record 51 million tonnes of food grains from the local market -- 28.4 million tonnes rice and 22.6 million wheat -- this year to keep prices at reasonable level.
It has also created a strategic reserve of five million tonnes of food grains out of the domestic procurement.
Source : Bernama.com