By Rajendra Jadhav
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India on Friday lifted its ban on exports of de-oiled rice bran with immediate effect, ending restrictions that had been in place for more than two years, the government said.
Before the ban was imposed in July 2023, India exported 500,000 metric tons of de-oiled rice bran per year, worth about 10 billion rupees, mainly to Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries.
The resumption in exports will lead to higher production of both de-oiled rice bran, which is used in the cattle feed industry, and rice bran oil, industry officials said.
Prices of de-oiled rice bran have fallen by half since July 2023 to about 10,000 Indian rupees ($113) per ton, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).
B.V. Mehta, executive director of the SEA, said exports would benefit the rice milling and solvent extraction industry, particularly in eastern India, while helping farmers and processors gain better value from rice bran by-products.
India is the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils, including palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil, sourcing them from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, Russia and Ukraine.
Mehta said the resumption of de-oiled rice bran exports should make extraction profitable and boost supplies of rice bran oil, which India needs to reduce imports.
Ajay Jhunjhunwala, an oil miller in Lucknow in northern India, said he believed exports would revive local prices and enable the industry to export the surplus. ($1 = 88.7480 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by YP Rajesh and Kevin Liffey)
