India’s Diplomatic Allies Request Centre To Restore Rice Exports To Three Countries
India’s principal diplomatic allies Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines have requested the Centre to restore rice exports to their countries after India decided to halt non-basmati imports to monitor pricing.
Around 110,000 tonnes of rice have been requested by Singapore from India. To counter the effects of the El Nino weather trend, Indonesia announced intentions to import 1 million tonnes (mt) of rice from India in June. India is another source of rice for the Philippines.
According to reports, the UN World Food Programme recently requested 200,000 tonnes of Indian rice for its humanitarian operations due to what it dubbed “catastrophic levels” of global food insecurity brought on by the covid-19 outbreak and the Ukraine crisis. Additionally, Bangladesh and India are negotiating the supply of some agricultural products, notably rice.
India has implemented several steps, such as export restrictions, to rein in rising food costs in the wake of a rise in retail inflation to a 15-month high. Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to reduce inflation in his Independence Day address to the nation as he gets ready to run for a third term in office in the May general elections.
Questions sent via mail to the Indonesian and Philippine embassies, the Singapore high commission in New Delhi, and the Indian department of food and public distribution went unanswered. Recently, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) disclosed that it was in discussions with India to resume rice exports. “SFA is collaborating closely with importers to boost the import of various rice varieties from different countries. In order to request an exemption from the embargo, Singapore is also in close touch with the Indian authorities, according to a news release from the agency.
It may be recalled that India is the world’s biggest rice exporter, accounting for about 40 per cent of the global rice trade.
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