Egypt’s Cabinet approved Thursday plans to allow the export of rise, bringing a major medium-grain rice exporter back into the international market for the first time since 2013.
Accordingly, traders would be allowed to export rice provided, they sell the government one tonne of medium-grain rice at 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($279.72) for each tonne of rice they export.
Exporters would also have to pay a tariff of $280 per tonne exported.
The move will contribute to cut the prices of rice distributed on the country’s subsidy system, which serves nearly 70 million citizens, Egyptian Supply Minister Khaled Hefny said.
Egypt first imposed a ban on exports in 2008 saying it needed to save the rice for local consumption and wanted to discourage rice farmers from growing the crop to save water.
