FAO/UN retaliates against India for banning rice exports

(By Planeta Arroz, with KNN) Indian rice exporters are excluded from participating in the tender for the procurement of rice for the World Food Program (WFP) by the United Nations due to restrictions imposed on rice exports by the Indian government. The WFP tender explicitly stated: “Due to the ban on rice exports in India, we are unable to accept rice of Indian origin exported from India,” as seen in documents obtained by ET. India, the largest global rice exporter, began a ban on the export of broken rice in September 2022. After that, in July 2023, the government expanded the export ban to include non-basmati white rice. This measure was accompanied by the imposition of a 20% export tax on parboiled rice and the introduction of a minimum export price (MEP) of $1,200 per ton for basmati rice in August 2023, in response to rising prices. in the domestic market. The value was lowered to US$950 per ton a month later, at the request of exporters. Despite these export restrictions, ...