Kakinada, May 12 The decision of the Union Government to allow non-basmati rice exports to 21 African countries to the extent of one million tonnes is a welcome move, as it will help the millers and the farmers, but clear guidelines have to be formulated and tenders should be called for to ensure transparency, according to Mr Vinod Agarwal, President of AP Rice Exporters’ Association.
He said in an interview here on Tuesday that the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade had issued a notification earlier this month allowing rice exports to 21 African countries. Three Government agencies – MMTC, STC and PEC – had been appointed to facilitate exports to these countries.
“But our past experience shows that there is no transparency in such transactions. Three or four major exporters manage to corner the contract and the others are denied the benefit. It is of no benefit to the millers or farmers and only the three or four big players stand to gain. Therefore, we want transparency in the transactions. Tenders should be floated and all should be given a fair chance,” said Mr Agarwal.
He said that after imposition of ban on rice exports in 2007 some five lakh tonnes of rice was allowed to be exported to Bangladesh in government-to-government deals but “only three or four major exporters grabbed the contracts.”
He said the current situation in Andhra Pradesh market was causing concern, as the FCI was not buying rice from the millers and the latter were therefore not willing to buy paddy from the farmers.
“The FCI is not in the market and exports are not allowed. There is severe scarcity of storage space, as wheat from the North is dumped in the godowns here. Therefore, there is a lull and crisis in the market.
“The decision to allow export of one million tonnes to Africa has come as a great relief. But it should be executed properly. Otherwise, there will no relief to farmers and millers in Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
He also said that millers in the other States such as Chhattisgarh, Bengal and Orissa were buying rice at a rate of Rs 100 below the minimum support price announced by the Union Government. In Andhra Pradesh, the millers were paying the MSP to the farmers by and large. Therefore, millers in the State were at a disadvantage, he added.
Ignoring the market dynamics, he said, the Union Government had imposed curbs on rice exports, but a situation would soon come when the Government would be forced to offer export incentives and subsidies to facilitate rice exports to ease the crisis in the market. He said it was an ill-advised move to ban rice exports.
Source : Business Line