The Indian government on September 8 announced restrictions on the export of rice imposing a 20% export duty on the export of several categories of non-basmati rice including raw white rice, and broken rice. The move follows worries by the central government over a possible rice shortage in the country following a weaker than usual monsoon which has resulted in low rainfall in parts of north India including UP and Bihar where much of the country’s staple food is produced.
The ban on rice export comes on the back of India banning wheat exports to the rest of the world also on similar wheat shortage concerns earlier this year in a move that came when the world at large was facing a wheat shortage on account of Russia’s war on Ukraine. However, unlike wheat in which India was only a marginal exporter and global supplier, India is a major player when it comes to the export of rice with almost 40% of global rice supplies coming from the South Indian nation.
The Union government's decision is expected to have global ramifications, especially for countries in Africa where most of India’s raw white rice is exported. Basmati rice on the other hand is exported to Europe and USA and its exports are not facing any additional levy.
Food stocks are crucial to a nation’s survival and India has painful chapters in its history of famines and starvation with the most recent memory being that of the Bengal famine that was largely caused by British policies to deliberately divert grain grown in India, elsewhere. To that end, it is only right that India places its own interests first and secures grain for itself before it can think of diverting the grain elsewhere.
India cannot afford to be complacent despite having reported surplus food stocks over the past few years especially since poor crops are becoming increasingly common. There is an increasing realization that reduced harvest and crop failure will be more common in the years ahead. Earlier this year wheat output took a hit on account of a heat wave across the country. The rice crop has been hit due to poor monsoon in some parts and floods or torrential rain in others that destroyed the crop.
With global temperatures increasingly on the rise and weather likely to be very unstable going forward, the world at large and the country, in particular, is staring at difficult times ahead. India would be wise to keep a sharp eye on the food security situation in the country and if anything, do its best to strengthen existing food distribution mechanisms that have for long held the country in good stead and ensured that from the earliest days as a young nation, food was given priority.
Besides that, the country really needs to improve its food storage infrastructure as millions of tonnes of good grain are lost to improper warehousing facilities including in Goa where the wastage of tonnes of toor dal resulted in the suspension of an officer and a very public scandal. One slip up and the dark days of hunger and famine could be staring at us.
