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Our Bureau

Kakinada, Oct. 10 The ban on non-basmati rice exports, imposed by the Union Government on Tuesday, has hit rice export trade here hard and in particular, the old anchorage port, which is mainly dependent on rice exports. It is estimated that currently rice stocks worth Rs 350 crore or so are in the port area and more stocks are scheduled to arrive, but the ban has put a stop to that.

According to Mr Vinod Agarwal, an exporter, the ban has come as “a bolt from the blue and the trade is totally unprepared for such an eventuality. Already, the dollar crash has affected rice exports and now the ban has made life difficult for us. If the arrivals are stopped at this juncture, it becomes difficult to meet even the existing contractual obligations.”

Another exporter said that exporters were facing great pressure from the bankers. Besides, the hike in freight rates, dollar crash, and the increase in rice prices had put pressure on the margins. The millers who had supplied rice to the exporters on credit basis would be after them, in the wake of the ban, and the exporters would have to face the music, he added.

The adverse impact of the ban could be seen on Wednesday, with as many as 100 lorries getting stranded at one of the weigh bridges, with exporters reluctant to receive them. Rice exports account for the bulk of the cargo from the old anchorage port and during 2006-2007, the old port handled three million tonnes. But the current financial year seems to be a difficult one.

Currently, twelve ships were being loaded with rice and three more are expected in a or two. “The Union Government should give some time to the exporters, shippers and others involved in the trade and refrain from taking such ad hoc, abrupt decisions. It will affect our standing in the international market,” said a leading C&F agent.

More Stories on : Rice | Exports & Imports | Agricultural Policy | Andhra Pradesh

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