India eases rice export curbs further

India today withdrew the minimum export price (MEP) of l$490 per tonne on overseas shipments of non-basmati white rice and it comes a day after lifting tax on parboiled rice export.

"The requirement of MEP for the export of non-basmati white rice...has been lifted with immediate effect," India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

Late on Tuesday night, the finance ministry in a notification removed the 10 percent export tax on parboiled rice.

On September 28, the India withdrew a blanket ban on overseas shipments of non-basmati white rice and imposed the floor price.

With the two decisions since October 22, the Indian government has removed almost all the barriers to rice exports that had been in force since September 2022.

The ban on exports of broken rice remains in place.

These measures came at a time when public godowns of the biggest economy in the South Asia have ample stock of rice with retail prices remaining stable.