Date:04/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/04/stories/2007110453360300.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Impasse on export of rice continues

Correspondent

Centre notifies fixing MEP for rice exports

Exporters want orders issued to Customs
They want all rice stocks to be allowed for exports

Kakinada: Despite the announcement made by the Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy at Delhi on Friday after meeting the Food and Agriculture Minister besides the Commerce Minister along with representatives of the rice exporters that all the rice stocks lying in the Port godowns till October 10, would be allowed for exports, no instructions were received to the customs authorities here from the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

As a result the impasse continues with the ships waiting for loading of rice subjecting the exporters to heavy loss including payment of huge amounts as demurrages.

Notification

The South India rice exporters’ association president Vinod Agarwal who is camping at Delhi told The Hindu on Saturday that they were confident of getting the notification issued by the DGFT positively by Monday evening.

Consignments

He said the Central Ministers were sympathetic on the demand of exporters that all the rice consignments brought into the port godowns till October 10 should be allowed even if they have valid commitments such as advance cash payments and cash against documents and not the letters of credit alone.

Meanwhile the Central Government has notified fixing the $ 425 per tonne as the minimum export price (MEP) for non-Basmati rice shipments.

The DGFT however has clarified that the earlier ban on non-Basmati rice exports would not be applicable to the rice priced $425 per tonne.

The rice exporters says that the order in no way benefit them as the rice stocks now lying in the godowns awaiting for shipment were of common varieties and priced low. They wanted the government to issue orders to the customs authorities to allow all the rice brought into the port area and also lying in various godowns for shipment basing on the valid letters of credit and also CADs without insisting for port authorities certification.

They argue that Kakinada Port is not having notified godowns and also not having the custodian as such they should not insist for Port officers’ certification.

They wanted all the rice stocks lying in various godowns in and around Kakinada port should be allowed for exports.