The Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) has said it will allow export of up to 100,000 tons of rice from the next fiscal year which begins from mid-July. [break]
The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has said it will open up two customs points -- Tatopani and Rasuwa -- for rice exports. But it has yet to fix the exact quantity that would be allowed to be shipped out of the country.
"Although the MoAD has okayed exports of 100,000 tons of rice, we are planning to limit it to 50,000 tons for now," Lal Mani Joshi, secretary at the MoCS, said. "The decision has to be approved by the Prime Minister´s Office."
At present, the government has decided to open only two border points, Tatopani and Rasuwa, for exports as these areas were hubs for illegal exports of rice. "We hope this step will control smuggling of rice," the official said, adding, “Opening up of customs points for legal exports will also ensure that farmers will get higher returns for their products.”
According to MoAD statistics, the country enjoyed food surplus of 443,000 tons in the fiscal year 2010/11. It has forecast a food surplus of about 800,000 tons for this fiscal year, of which 300,000 tons will comprise rice, the statistics show.
The preliminary estimation of crops production of MoAD shows that paddy production reached 9.45 million tons this fiscal year, up 9.8 percent compared to the last fiscal and 21.8 percent compared to the fiscal year 2009/10.
Despite surplus paddy production, the government is reluctant to open up exports of rice from other customs points citing unethical behavior of traders.
"There is a risk in opening rice exports from other customs points," an official at the MoAD said. "Bangladesh has a huge demand of rice of almost 1 million tons that might lead us to another trouble." The official´s statement stems from the fear that Nepali traders re-export rice imported from India to Bangladesh.
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