Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian government has decided to suspend the export of rice starting from 4 April 2016, said Tarek Kabil, the minister of trade and Industry.
This decision aims to meet the local market demands that have been largely growing.
In October 2015, the government lift ban on rice exports as a result of an expected surplus of production, imposing an export tariff of EGP2,000 ($255.43) per tonne until 4 April 2016.
The total exported amount has not exceeded 40,000 tonnes.
According to data by the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Egypt has cultivated rice grains over an area of 1.27 million acres in 2015/16. The expected harvest stands at 4.4 million tonnes, while domestic consumption is likely to reach 3.6 million tonnes.
