Clarification Regarding Rumours of Government Ban on Export of Basmati Rice

It has come to the notice of Government of India that rumours are bring spread by certain elements that the Government has banned the export of Basmati rice. The Government of India most emphatically clarifies that there is no truth in such rumours and the Government is not even considering any proposal to ban export of Basmati rice. As per the extant policy, export of Basmati rice is allowed subject to registration of contracts with the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). There is no change in the policy and exports of Basmati rice are continuing unabated. During the period from April 2015 to August 2015, exports of Basmati rice have grown by 16.93% in quantity terms as compared to the corresponding period during the previous year. In view of softening of commodity prices, the realization of Basmati rice has gone down as has happened with many other commodities. However, all steps are being taken to explore more markets & promote retail packs to improve the realization for Basmati rice. It is expected that a good flow of export orders is likely and the Government also expects the present trend of growth in export of Basmati rice to continue.