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Rice, wheat Export Ban May Be Lifted Next Week |
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A decision on lifting the four-year ban on export of rice and wheat is likely in a week, commerce secretary Rahul khullar said on Wednesday. But, exporters, were not excited as private trade may have little to benefit.
Before implementation of the ban, India had exported about 5.3 million tonne non-basmati rice and little over 1,100 tonne of wheat and wheat products in 2007 and 2008 respectively. In the last two years wheat exports have remained negligible (lesser than 50 tonne) though despite the ban more than a million tonne rice have been exported, mostly through diplomatic channels.
Food grain exports were banned on these years in view of high food inflation prevailing in the country at the time and subsequently due to a drought, which dented food grain output.
The Food Corporation of India, which is managing to fit in food grain stocks of 65.27 million tonne in a total available space of 62 million tonne in the country, is desperate for the government to open up export channels.
“We are in all readiness to initiate exports and are awaiting proper government orders to be framed. This will ease pressure on our godowns as well as better off take by bulk traders and millers,” FCI chairman Shiraz Hussain said. FCI had already informed the government that stock carrying cost will add to more than 70,000 crore food subsidy bill for the year.
If implemented, India would be entering the global food grain market on a year when both wheat and rice are just sufficient to meet world demand. However, uncertainties about a jump in food prices are also prevalent. News of food riots in some drought affected African nations and world’s top rice grower Thailand looking to hike rice prices could impact global prices.
Private trade bodies said that though demand for non-basmati rice remains from Africa, Bangladesh and Malyasia, the market is price and quality sensitive.
“It is likely that government would ask private trade to lift grains from FCI stocks for export. This is problematic as quality of grains in FCI godowns is questionable. If they allow us to procure from market the situation slightly betters,” said past president of All India Rice Exporters Association and joint managing director of Kohinoor Foods, Gurnam Arora.
“Private trade will have a limited advantage as far as exports are concerned. Even if government exports at economic cost, there will be few takers as our rates are higher than global rates by at least $35 per tonne,” said vice president of Roller Flour Millers Association, Veena Sharma.
“My own sense is that pressure on agri prices is going to continue. I also think that domestically the (pressure on) prices are going to continue even more. However, the Government policies should not reflect a knee-jerk reaction,” commerce secretary said addressing a seminar on Centre for World Trade Organisation Studies on Wednesday.
An empowered group of ministers, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, would review the ban next week. Top considerations will remain to liquidate stocks before the kharif harvest season, during which central food pool is likely to swell up by another 35 million tonne.
Source : mydigitalfc.com
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