The recent decision of banning non-basmathi rice exports has caused flutters among the rice millers in Andhra Pradesh.
The AP millers are demanding for early clearance of stocks already contracted from the Kakinada port. Over 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice have already moved to anchorage area.
“We are worried over the fate of our money, which is locked in the stocks,” D Bhaskara Reddy, president, AP Rice Millers Association said. The stocks, worth of over Rs 450 crore, have already been contracted and supplied to the exporters, but hanging at the port.
“The exporters are not clearing the bills. Unless they (exporters) pay, we (millers) cannot clear the dues to farmers,” said Bhaskara Reddy. The farmers are the final sufferers, they say.
To redress the problem, the millers have approached the chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy to use his good offices at Union government and see that the stocks are cleared as early as possible.
Kakinada port is the premier port exporting non-basmathi rice in southern India, besides Tuticorin and Chennai. It will export over 17 lakh tonnes annually.
According to the rice exporters from Kakinada, the trade has already been disturbed due to fall in the dollar value and the new decision to ban exports would further aggravate the situation. They felt that most of the export houses depending on the rice export alone will close down. “We are under pressure from bankers for repayment of loans,” trade sources said.