India imports rice for first time in 25 years

New Delhi: India, the world’s top rice exporter, is preparing to import the grain for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century to feed its remote and hilly northeastern region where rail freight is being disrupted due to a track overhaul. The country will import more than 100,000 tonnes of rice from neighbouring Myanmar over the next several months, likely spread out across 10,000-30,000 tonne tenders, government officials said. The imported rice and grain from domestic stocks will be distributed to the northeast region through Bangladesh’s Ashuganj port, the officials said.

The broadening of the railway gauge will start in October and is likely to be completed in April 2015. The states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and parts of Assam state, which normally receive their grain supplies from north India, look set to be impacted the most by the work, the officials said.