LT Foods, KRBL, Kohinoor: Rice stocks zoom up to 15% on Tuesday; here’s why
By Bloomberg
Rice stocks rally: Shares of rice producing companies were in demand on Tuesday, July 9, with individual stocks surging up to 15 per cent on the BSE in the intraday trade. The upmove comes amid a report that the Indian government is looking to relax restrictions on exports of some varieties of rice to avoid a glut in the country.
Among individual stocks, shares of L&T Foods advanced 15.3 per cent (Rs 297.95), Chaman Lal Setia rallied 14 per cent (Rs 234.8), KRBL 12.9 per cent (Rs 348.8), Kohinoor Foods 9.7 per cent (Rs 46), and GRM Overseas 9.4 per cent (Rs 226.7). Meanwhile, Adani Wilmar, and Sarveshwar Foods were up 1 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, at 9:40 AM as against 0.21 per cent rise in the benchmark BSE Sensex.
According to the Bloomberg report, the government is considering allowing white rice shipments with a fixed duty. Besides, it may also consider scrapping a 20 per cent tax on parboiled rice exports and impose a fixed levy instead to discourage under-invoicing of cargoes.
Meanwhile, another report suggests that the government could review the restrictions on exporting certain rice varieties in September, following the conclusion of the ongoing kharif season and the availability of final production figures.
The kharif season aligns with the south-west monsoons in India, typically from June to October.
“The official added that rainfall distribution between July and September will be critical for rice production, and the decision to lift the ban on non-basmati rice exports will largely depend on the monsoon performance during these months,” the report said.
India, which is among the largest rice exporters, has been curbing exports of some varieties of rice since July 2023. The supply restriction, however, pushed Asian rice prices to their highest in more than 15 years in January.
India’s total rice exports slumped 21 per cent from a year earlier to 2.9 million tonne in April-May 2024. Shipments of non-basmati rice fell 32 per cent to 1.93 million tonnes during the same period, government data showed.
This article has been republished from The Business Standard.