India’s export of non-basmati rice has come to a standstill, as the government has not yet renewed the 5 percent exemption for exporters under the Indian Commodity Export Scheme (MEIS), traders said.

As part of the MEIS (Scheme for Exporting Goods from India), exporters receive a certificate or script from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), which can then be exchanged. When exporting for $ 400, the company will receive a MEIS script for $ 20, which can then be sold.

Exporters said that until the resumption of the scheme, which expired on March 25, new contracts were not signed. Indian rice is no longer competitive in the global market due to the high minimum support prices provided to farmers, a strong rupee and lower prices in Thailand, Pakistan and Myanmar.

India exports rice mainly to Africa, the USA, Europe and the countries of Southeast Asia. It was expected that the updated scheme would include basmati-free rice from peeled brown rice, steamed rice and crushed rice.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade, a division of the Ministry of Commerce, referred the matter to the Ministry of Finance, and once approved, it will go to the Election Commission of India for final approval, exporters said.

“At the moment, all rice exports without basmati are at a standstill due to ambiguities in politics. Not a single buyer wants to take a position at this stage, ”B.V. said Krishna Rao, President of the Rice Exporters Association.