MANILA (ANN/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER) – The Indian government has granted approval for the export of more than one million metric tonnes (MT) of non-basmati white rice to seven countries, notably with the Philippines receiving the largest allocation, despite the ongoing export ban.
According to the statement issued by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry on October 18, a total of 1.03 million MT of rice will be sent to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Seychelles.
These exports will be conducted through a government-to-government (G2G) initiative managed by India’s National Cooperative Exports Ltd.
However, Raul Montemayor, the national manager of the Federation of Free Farmers, cautioned that this development doesn’t guarantee rice supply from India to the Philippines.
“First, it depends on the price. Second, and most important, the quality. In the past, our local importers have not secured rice from India despite significantly lower prices, most probably due to concerns about quality and reliability of supply,” Montemayor said.
He also said the volume provided by India is “not that significant, assuming it is fully utilised” since the total rice import requirement is about 2.5 to 3 million MT annually.
Among the seven nations, the bulk of rice exports went to the Philippines with 295,000 MT, equivalent to a share of 28.5 per cent, followed by Cameroon with 190,000 MT.
Ban exemption
This transpired after India imposed a moratorium on exporting non-basmati white rice in July this year—a move questioned by the World Trade Organisation due to its impact on the global food market—to stabilise its supply and temper rising prices.
Yet in the Philippines, Vietnam remains the top supplier of rice according to the latest government data.
The country imported 2.68 million MT of rice as of September 6, based on the Bureau of Plant Industry’s (BPI’s) latest tally.
Vietnam delivered 89.75 per cent or 2.4 million MT of the total. India shipped 13,579.39 MT of imported rice, reflecting a meagre share of 0.5 per cent.
Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian said earlier that the country’s rice imports may reach 3.1 million MT this year against the US Department of Agriculture’s estimate of 3.5 million MT.
