kenya exempted from india rice import ban
Published on: December 8, 2023.
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India has ended the ban on rice exports to Kenya and four other African nations, providing relief to these countries that heavily rely on Indian rice. This decision comes after several months of restrictions on the exportation of rice products from India.
Since May 2022, India had imposed sanctions on the export of non-basmati rice and imposed a 20% export duty on basmati rice. However, the ban did not apply to government-to-government deals, allowing limited quantities of rice to be exported.
Under the new arrangements, Kenya will receive the largest share of 100,000 metric tonnes of rice, while Egypt will receive 60,000 MT, Madagascar 50,000 MT, Comoros 20,000 MT, and Comoros 10,000 MT.
The decision to lift the ban was made by India’s National Cooperative Exports Limited on December 7, 2023. India emphasized that the reason for lifting the ban was to assist these countries in addressing their food security concerns.
This development comes as a relief to Kenya, as it heavily relied on rice imports from India and faced high prices when the ban was in place. During this period, Kenya turned to Pakistan and Tanzania as alternative sources to meet its rice demands.
India’s decision to impose the ban was aimed at preventing the illegal packaging of non-basmati rice as basmati rice, a practice employed by unscrupulous traders attempting to bypass the restrictions.
In Kenya, rice imports rank at number 12 among the country’s food imports, highlighting the importance of Indian rice to meet the country’s demand.
For more information, please visit the source article on Kenyans.co.ke.
