Numbers reveal the Centre?s urgency in banning rice exports although exporters and critics denounce the move as knee-jerk. The case in study here is the export ban on non-basmati rice, the latest commodity to come under the government?s export-import policy scanner.
The stock of rice in the central pool has declined every year to be 104.09 lakh tonne in 2006-07 from 212.88 lakh tonne in 2002-03 against a buffer of 122 lakh tonne on April 1 every year. The central stock on April 1, 2007 was 15% below this level.
A study of the central pool reserves for rice on April 1 every year reveals a declining trend. From the 2002-03 level, the stock fell to 150.46 lakh tonne in 2003-04 and then to 105.91 lakh tonne in 2004-05. The reserves further slipped to 98.21 lakh tonne and 104.09 lakh tonne in 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively.
But the figures are not disturbing in terms of central procurement. The Centre?s buying has varied from 212.80 lakh tonne in 2000-01 to 259.03 in 2006-07. It has, however, shown drastic variations like falls in 2002-03 to only 164.11 lakh tonne to a decade-high of 276.56 in 2005-06.