New Delhi, Oct. 25: The government today lifted the ban on the export of superior quality non-basmati rice priced at $425 a tonne or above after protests from farmers and exporters.

Information and broadcasting minister P. R. Das Munshi, said, “The government decided to lift the ban on export of non-basmati rice after repeated requests from rice-growing states.”

However, the move will give only partial relief to exporters and farmers since the ban on export of low value non-basmati rice will continue.

On October 9, the government had imposed a ban on the export of all types of non-basmati rice to increase domestic stocks. Rice growers and exporters were against the move as prices fell in the domestic market and growers were denied the opportunity to sell in the lucrative export market. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and commerce minister Kamal Nath reviewed the situation and decided in favour of non-basmati rice growers and exporters. Nath said the exports for which letters of credit were opened before October 9 would not come under the ban. He also allowed the export of all varieties of rice lying in port godowns.

Zulfikar Ali of Bengal Exports said, “With the fall in dollar rate, I am concentrating more on my iron ore business. But with the lifting of the ban, I will start exporting non-basmati rice to Bangladesh.” Ali exports around 5,000 to 10,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh every year.

Dinesh Singh of M. Ramsingh Modern Rice Mills in Tamil Nadu said the ban was not a wise move on the part of the government. “Currently, there is surplus paddy and rice in the country. Even if the government feared scarcity of rice for the public distribution system, there was no reason to ban export of superior quality non-basmati rice, ” Singh added.