The government Tuesday allowed exports of Kala Namak rice up to an aggregate quantity of 1,000 metric tonnes through six specified customs stations. Their exports were prohibited till now.
“Authorized signatory for certification of Kala Namak rice and its quantity will be Director, Agriculture Marketing & Foreign Trade, Lucknow,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.
Kala Namak is a premium non-basmati rice variety grown in Uttar Pradesh.
The customs stations are Varanasi Air Cargo, JNCH in Maharashtra, CH in Kandla and land customs stations in Barhni, Sonauli and Nepalgunj Road.
Last year, the centre banned the exports of broken rice and then imposed a 20% duty on white rice exports to ensure food security and keep prices under control.
Though exports of non-basmati white rice were banned on July 20 to boost domestic supply , exports are allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to certain countries to meet their food security needs and on request.
India has allocated export quotas of non-basmati white rice to Bhutan, Mauritius, the UAE, Singapore, Cameroon, Cote D’ Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Seychelles.