India's State Trading Corporation (STCI) and Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC) have received one bid each for their tenders to import 20,000 tons rice from Myanmar, according to local sources.

STCI and MMTC each called for tenders for 10,000 tons imports of 25% broken white rice for delivery between October 15 - November 15, 2014 at the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in the North-Eastern state of Manipur and Mizoram.

While STCI received a bid of $750 per ton, MMTC received a bid of $867 per ton. Traders told local sources that the difference in bid amounts is due to logistical cost of transporting rice from Myanmar to the two states of Manipur and Mizoram.

The government of India has approved for importing 100,000 tons of rice for the catering to the public distribution (PDS) needs in the north-eastern states of Manipur and Mizoram and authorized STCI and MMTC to import 20,000 tons of rice each month over the next five-month period.

India, a net exporter of rice, had about 21.65 million tons (including a milled equivalent of about 6.65 million tons of paddy) in its central pool as of September 1, 2014. The stocks were about double the required buffer and strategic reserve norms of around 11.8 million tons for this time of the year, according to the FCI.

Despite having sufficient rice stocks, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has decided to import rice due to likely transportation disruptions (to the two states) from the proposed railway conversion works on a 220-kilometer line between Assam and Tripura.  

Source:- oryza.com