India may allow limited rice exports and will continue to permit free overseas sales of corn, Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai said on Friday, bringing some cheer to stretched global grain markets.
He added that India was considering imposing restrictions on soymeal exports after demands from makers of animal feed.
India, the world's second-biggest rice exporter last year, banned all non-basmati rice shipments in March, one of a series of protectionist measures worldwide that triggered a wave of panic buying, causing benchmark Thai prices to nearly treble.
"We are reviewing the situation and may allow limited exports," Pillai said on the sidelines of a conference in the southern city of Kochi, adding that the government may also review the export tax for basmati rice.
US rice futures soared nearly 5 percent in early Asian trading on Friday as prospects of reduced output from cyclone-ravaged Myanmar and a larger-than-expected purchase of rice by Malaysia raised concerns.
This week, India's Food Secretary T. Nand Kumar told Reuters India would soon consider selling limited volumes of the Asian staple to its neighbours or countries with which India had a "strategic interest".
NO CORN RESTRICTIONS
Last year, India exported about 4 million tonnes of rice, equivalent to around one-eighth of global trade, much of it to big Middle Eastern buyers like Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, all important suppliers of crude to Asia's third-largest economy.
Earlier this year it allowed exports of about 400,000 tonnes to Bangladesh, and sent smaller quantities to Nepal and Bhutan.
The government has forecast a 1.7 percent increase in rice output this year to 95.7 million tonnes, and the head of the top state grains buying agency told Reuters this week he was confident of hitting his target of buying 27 million tonnes.
Pillai also said the government was considering restrictions on soymeal exports due to demand from animal feed makers.
India is a major soymeal exporter and is expected to ship about 5 million tonnes of the commodity in the year ending September.
He said the government would not restrict corn exports.
"There is no need to ban corn exports as we are exporting very little quantity," he said.
India is likely to export about 2.1 million tonnes of corn by May, Amit Sachdev, the India-based representative of the US Grain Council, told Reuters in April.
India consumes about 14 million tonnes of corn in a year and had exported about 400,000 tonnes of the commodity in the 200607 corn marketing year, which runs from October to September.
India revised its 200708 corn output estimates in April to 18.54 million tonnes from 16.78 million earlier.
Import duty on natural rubber would not be cut, Pillai said although Indian tyre makers have demanded this saying rubber, a key raw material, attracted an import duty of 20 percent, which was higher than the 10 percent levied on tyres.
"We will look into the welfare of one million rubber growers rather than the tyre-makers," he said.
India imported 87,000 tonnes of natural rubber in 200708.