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India rice bowl no more as import begins
Highlights
India Rice Bowl no More as Import Begins. India, the world’s top rice exporter, is preparing to import the grain for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century to feed its remote and hilly northeastern region where rail freight is being disrupted due to a track overhaul.
New Delhi: India, the world’s top rice exporter, is preparing to import the grain for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century to feed its remote and hilly northeastern region where rail freight is being disrupted due to a track overhaul. The country will import more than 100,000 tonnes of rice from neighbouring Myanmar over the next several months, likely spread out across 10,000-30,000 tonne tenders, government officials said. The imported rice and grain from domestic stocks will be distributed to the northeast region through Bangladesh’s Ashuganj port, the officials said.
The imports and the distribution arrangement underscore the extensive challenges India faces as it tries to become a regional agricultural powerhouse. But the quantities are too small to shake up the rice market. India took the crown as the world’s top rice exporter in 2012, with nearly 10 million tonnes of annual overseas sales since then. India is undertaking the first major overhaul of the region’s rail network.
The broadening of the railway gauge will start in October and is likely to be completed in April 2015. The states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and parts of Assam state, which normally receive their grain supplies from north India, look set to be impacted the most by the work, the officials said.
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