India is thinking about increasing the price of parboiled rice, endangering global supplies

India is thinking about increasing the price of parboiled rice, endangering global supplies

India is thinking about increasing the price of parboiled rice, endangering global supplies

According to persons familiar with the situation, the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is vying for a third term in elections scheduled for the first half of this year, is thinking about maintaining the export fee at 20%.

India is thinking about increasing the price of parboiled rice, endangering global supplies.

In an attempt to combat food inflation ahead of national elections, India, the world's largest exporter of rice, may increase export duties on the parboiled kind. This might restrict global supplies and drive prices to all-time highs. As.

According to persons familiar with the situation, the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is vying for a third term in elections scheduled for the first half of this year, is thinking about maintaining the export fee at 20%. The individuals, who requested anonymity due to the secret nature of the discussions, said that no immediate suggestion has been made to outlaw the export of parboiled rice. The current expiration date of the tax is March 31.

The benchmark Asian rice prices, which are now at or near 15-year highs due to India's prohibition on the sale of important kinds till 2023, might increase with any such action. For some Middle Eastern and West African nations, this will be devastating news. The majority of their food needs are met by South Asian nations.

The ministries of food and commerce did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The government's vigorous steps to reduce food inflation, which increased to about 10% in December from a year earlier, will include the expansion of the fee. India has already outlawed stockpiling and restricted exports of the majority of wheat, sugar, and rice types. The reduced import tariff on edible oil has been extended for an additional year.

Even still, Delhi's retail rice prices are almost 11% more than they were a year ago. Tuesday saw the introduction of a nationwide scheme by Food Minister Piyush Goyal to provide retail consumers discounted rice. Already, the government is providing wheat flour and gram at lower costs than what is offered in the market.

Before the limits, 30% of India's total exports were made up of parboiled rice, which is the product of a procedure that includes partly boiling paddy before milling it to increase its nutritional content and alter the cooked rice's texture. is incorporated. In 2022–2023, the South Asian country was projected to make up almost 40% of the world's rice trade.