Egypt says to ban rice exports as of April 4

Egypt will ban rice exports starting from April 4 in a step that aims to preserve stocks for the local market and to achieve price stability, the country’s Trade Minister Tarek Qabil announced Thursday.
The North African country first imposed a ban on rice exports in 2008, said it needed to save the rice for local consumption and wanted to discourage rice farmers from growing the crop to save water, but this was reversed last year.