(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Nov 20 (KNN) India is likely to keep its export ban on rice and the world's top rice exporter's decision is expected to hold up global prices, reported Bloomberg.

This move likely to hold the staple grain at close to its highest price levels since the food crisis of 2008.

The government has repeatedly tightened restrictions on shipments in a bid to curb domestic price rises and shield consumers.

“As long as domestic rice prices face upward pressure, the restrictions are likely to stay,” said Sonal Varma, chief economist for India and Asia ex-Japan at Nomura Holdings Inc.

“Even after the elections, if domestic rice prices do not stabilize, these measures are likely to get extended,” reported Bloomberg.

B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association, which represents the country's shippers, said the government would likely keep the export restrictions in place until the vote next year.

The arrival of El Niño, which typically wilts crops across Asia, may further tighten the global rice market, at a time when world stockpiles are heading for a third straight annual drop.

(KNN Bureau)

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