India scraps rice import duty

India has allowed duty-free rice imports as local output is set to fall sharply after the worst monsoon in 37 years hit sowing and subsequent floods damaged the crop,according to a Press Trust of India report.

The import duty has been scrapped to September next year,the report in the Financial Express daily said on Wednesday,citing a source in the Central Board of Excise and Customs.

It said the government feared that India’s rice output may fall 16 million tonnes.

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It said import duty had been abolished for semi-milled rice,as recommended by a panel of ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The report said rice prices had shot up by about 25 per cent in last four months. India produced 99.15 million tones of rice last year.