Indian rice shipments stuck, traders seek govt help

At least 20 ships are waiting to load around 6 lakh tonne of rice at Indian ports as New Delhi’s surprise export restrictions have trapped cargoes for nearly a fortnight, forcing sellers to pay demurrage charges, industry officials said.

India banned exports of broken rice and imposed a 20% duty on exports of various other types on September 8, as the world’s biggest exporter of the grain tries to boost local supplies and calm prices after below-average monsoon rainfall curtailed planting.

The surprise move trapped cargo that was moved to the ports or was in transit before the government made the announcement, said BV Krishna Rao, president of The Rice Exporters Association. “We have requested the government to provide concession to this transitional cargo as we are paying hefty demurrage charges,” he said.

Also read: India bans export of broken rice, imposes 20% duty on non-Basmati rice.

“When contracts were signed there wasn’t any tax on the exports. Since exports now attract the tax, there is dispute who will pay the tax over the agreed price,” said a Delhi-based dealer with a global trading firm. — Reuters

10 lakh tonne stuck

• At least 20 ships are waiting to load around 6 lakh tonne of rice at Indian ports as New Delhi’s surprise export restrictions have trapped cargoes for nearly a fortnight
• Apart from this, a further 4 lakh tonne of rice is stuck at port warehouses and container freight stations

This article has been republished from The Tribune.