The government has banned the export of broken rice to increase domestic availability. In a notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has stated that the Export Policy of broken rice is amended from ‘Free’ to ‘Prohibited’ to ensure sufficient domestic availability.

The notification (dated September 9, 2022) would come into effect from September 9, 2022. DGFT further added that the provisions under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 regarding the transitional arrangement should not apply to this notification.

Earlier Thursday, the DGFT had imposed a 20 per cent export duty on non-basmati rice (except for parboiled rice). This was mainly done to boost domestic supplies amid a fall in the paddy crop in the current Kharif season.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is the agency under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Government of India. It is entrusted with the task of administering laws regarding foreign trade.