India's aromatic basmati and non-basmati rice exports rose 7.37 per cent to 126.97 lakh tonnes during the April-October period of the current fiscal, despite restrictions on the shipments, according to industry data.
Exports stood at 118.25 lakh tonnes in the same period during the previous fiscal.
"Despite curbs on exports of some varieties of rice, the overall exports remained strong so far," said Vijay Sethia, former president at All India Exporters Association.
Out of total exports, basmati rice exports rose to 24.97 lakh tonnes during the April-October period of the 2022-23 fiscal, from 21.59 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, he told PTI.
Non-basmati rice exports increased to 102 lakh tonnes from 96.66 lakh tonnes during the comparable period, Sethia added.
Basmati rice was shipped mainly to traditional markets of the US, Europe and Saudi Arabia, while non-basmati rice was exported largely to African countries.
In September, the government had banned export of broken rice and had also slapped 20 per cent customs duty on non-basmati rice in order to boost domestic availability and contain price rise.
Sethia said non-basmati rice exports were not affected due to the imposition of customs duty. The exports remained robust.
The government imposed curbs on rice exports to check prices that flared up due to likely fall in production.
As per the first estimate of the agriculture ministry, rice output is estimated to decline to 104.99 million tonnes in the kharif season of 2022-23 crop year (July-June) from 111.76 million tonnes in the previous kharif season.
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