NEW DELHI, India - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said India's recent rice export ban is likely to increase global food inflation and could lead to retaliatory measures.
The Indian government last week banned the export of non-basmati white rice due to rising local retail prices and fears of a production shortfall.
Coming within days of Russia's suspension of the UN-brokered accord that allowed more than 30 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to global markets via three Black Sea ports, the Indian move has raised concerns about world food supplies.
The non-basmati white rice variety constitutes about 25 per cent of India's total rice exports.
"In the current environment, these types of restrictions are likely to exacerbate volatility on food prices in the rest of the world. And they can also lead to retaliatory measures," IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said on Tuesday.
"So, they are certainly something that we would encourage the removal of these type of export restrictions, because they can be harmful globally," he said. - BERNAMA