Friday, 12 Sep, 2025
By: Yash Gupte
India said that the ban on export of broken rice comes after a massive increase in exports
In a meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held last week in Geneva, India defended its decision of imposing a ban on wheat and rice exports. Senegal, USA and the European Union questioned India’s stand and marked that the ban imposed by India could have serious effects on the global markets. Reacting to the concerns of these countries, India said that the ban on export of broken rice comes after a massive increase in exports.
The exponential rise in exports led to the scarcity of the commodity in the country. India Tracker had reported in the last week that apart from making the broken rice available in domestic market, the other major reason behind the ban on export of broken rice was to make it available for the ethanol blending programme. India exported 3890.86 7 tons of broken rice in 2021-22. The exports in the FY 2020-21 registered a growth of 663.7%. The country also imposed a 20% export duty on non-Basmati rice to boost domestic supplies amid a fall in area under paddy crop in the current kharif season. Apart from the ban on broken rice export, India also imposed a ban on the export of wheat in May this year. The reason behind the imposition of ban on wheat exports was to make it available for domestic consumption amid scorching heat waves in the summer months. India exported wheat worth $549.67 in 2021.
The Indian delegation asserted that the ban is temporary in nature and the Indian government is planning an alternative. Among the most concerned countries was the Senegal which is India’s one of the largest broken rice importer. It urged India to keep the food security in mind amid difficult times. Considering the export ban imposed by India on broken rice and wheat, India Tracker takes a look at the Global Food Price Index. The Food Price Index (FPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities. It is being published by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations since 1996 as a public good to help in monitoring developments in the global agricultural commodity markets.
Source: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
It is clear from the above chart that the global food price index was highest between March 2022 and June 2022. The war between Russia-Ukraine was the major reason for the increase in global food prices and the war also resulted in the disruptions in global supply chains. Russia and Ukraine are the major exporters of wheat and the war between them resulted in decline of wheat exports from both the countries. A major disruption in wheat supply was reported after the ban on the export of the commodity imposed by India which is the second largest wheat exporter in the world.
Though the global food price index continued its downward trajectory for the fifth consecutive month, the food price index in August 2022 was 10 points higher than August 2021. The rate of inflation in major countries like USA, UK, Spain and etc has made the situation more worrisome as this has resulted in increase in prices of essential cereals like wheat and rice. The export ban imposed by India on wheat and broken rice amid the domestic shortage has resulted in increase in the prices of both the commodities across the world.
