NEW DELHI, 13 May 2020: In order to provide special support to rice export, the central government has decided to set up a new Rice Export Promotion Forum (REPF).
The new body will work under the Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Promotion Development Authority (APEDA) and will focus on how to increase rice exports.
Announcing this, APEDA in a notification said, “Considering the importance of export of rice, its inherent potentials and the multifarious issues, which are faced in the process, it is decided to constitute a Rice Export Promotion Forum.”
During 2018-19, India exported basmati rice worth USD $4.72 billion and non-basmati rice worth USD $3.05 billion. APEDA is yet to release the final rice export figures for 2019-20.
Members of new export promotion forum
The new body will comprise representatives from the rice industry, exporters, and officials from APEDA, Commerce Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Directors of Agriculture from major rice producing states such as West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
“The export promotion forum will make concerted efforts to identify, document particulars and reach out to stakeholders across the entire production/ supply chain of export of rice for increasing these exports significantly to the global market, through various interventions,” the notification said.
The new forum will monitor, identify and anticipate developments pertaining to production and exports and recommend necessary policy measures. It will be in touch with rice producers, exporters and other relevant stakeholders and hear their problems, and facilitate, support and provide solutions to them.
India’s edge in rice export
With the newly dedicated forum, exporters can now focus on how to increase rice exports with other countries.
Rice is the only agri-commodity from India currently that maintained its competitiveness in the overseas market, as exports of other grains such as wheat and maize are unviable due to the higher production costs.
Currently, India is the second largest producer of rice in the world and production has been increasing for years.
As per the per Second Advance Estimates of 2019-20, rice production is seen touching a record 117.47 million tonnes in 2019-20, against 96 million tonnes or rice produced in 2010-11.
