A lead trading body has requested that the government of India should allow exports of 1 million metric tons of a premium non-basmati rice variety favoured by overseas Indians.
New Delhi banned the exports last month by imposing a ban on non-basmati white rice after retail rice prices increased by 3 per cent in a month after late but heavy monsoon rains caused damage to crops.
The ban triggered panic buying in many countries from the U.S. to Canada and Australia.
The price of sonamasuri rice, which is mainly produced in southern India and consumed by south Indians living overseas increased violently outside India following the ban, the Rice Exporters Association said in a letter to the government.