The Indian government may consider more non-basmati rice exports in addition to one million tonnes already approved, Food Minister K.V. Thomas said on Wednesday, as part of its efforts to trim bulging stocks. India, the world's second-biggest rice producer, eased a 2008 ban in July with the first exports allowed since that clampdown to bolster domestic supplies.
But a court ordered suspension of the exports after some traders said the procedure of allocation of quotas for overseas sales by the government to 82 private rice millers was faulty. The court is likely to take up the case again on September 7. "We have received several proposals for allowing exports from states like Andhra Pradesh where production was more than expectations," Thomas told reporters. On Friday, Thomas said the next meeting of a panel of ministers on food could take up the issue of permitting more exports. The panel is empowered to implement its decisions without needing cabinet approval.
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