Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) on Wednesday urged the government to lift the export ban on de-oiled rice bran to allow clearance of surplus stock.
De-oiled rice bran is used as feed primarily for cattle and poultry.
"The ban has left processors struggling to dispose of de-oiled rice bran, forcing many to shut down operations or cut capacity - impacting both the rice milling industry and rice bran oil production," SEA said in a statement.
The government imposed the ban on July 28, 2023, and has extended it multiple times - most recently in February 2025, through September 30, 2025.
"We have urged the government to evaluate the wide-ranging economic, agricultural, and environmental benefits of lifting the ban," the Mumbai-based trade body said.
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SEA argued that exporting surplus de-oiled rice bran would allow efficient clearance of stock, enable sustained processing, improve capacity utilization, maintain vegetable oil production, increase employment and foreign exchange earnings.
Over three decades, India has established strong export markets for de-oiled rice bran in Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh and other Asian nations. The ban has allowed competitors to step in, threatening India's position as a reliable supplier, SEA said.
The issue is particularly acute in eastern states like West Bengal and Odisha, major producers that lack developed local cattle feed industries. High freight costs make domestic transportation to high-demand regions uneconomical compared to exports.
The association noted that increased availability of Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) in animal feed has reduced domestic demand for de-oiled rice bran, further complicating disposal.
SEA has called on relevant ministries to urgently reconsider the export restrictions.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Domestic CV volumes are expected to touch 1 million units mark this fiscal, the pre-pandemic peak logged in FY19, driven by accelerating infrastructure execution, replacement demand and policy support from the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, ratings agency Crisil said on Wednesday.
The sector's credit outlook remains stable, supported by strong liquidity and healthy cash flows, it said. The volume growth will be led by light commercial vehicles (LCVs), which are expected to account for around 62 per cent of total volume on account of rising penetration of e-commerce and warehousing.
A pickup in freight-intensive sectors such as cement and mining will boost the overall demand, it said. Crisil said its analysis is based on four key CV players, which account for around 70 per cent of the sector volume.
The commercial vehicle (CV) sector comprises two segments-- LCVs and M&HCV ( medium and heavy commercial vehicles) -- with buses classified under both the segments.
The M&HCV volume, comprising around 38 per cent of total volume, is expected to grow 2-4 per cent this fiscal, led by increased infrastructure spending across construction, roads and metro-rail projects, it said.
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On the other hand, the LCV segment may grow faster at 4-6 per cent driven by e-commerce-led deliveries and expansion of warehouses in Tier 2/3 cities.
It also said that easing inflation and interest rates will boost deferred replacement demand from the ageing fleet bought during FY 2017-2019, thereby supporting overall growth. In the electric bus segment, the PM-eBus Sewa scheme will catalyse demand, albeit on the current low base of around 3,200 units, it added.
The PM-eBus Sewa scheme was launched in August 2023 with an estimated cost of Rs 57,613 crore, with an aim to deploy 10,000 electric buses across 100 cities.
"Domestic CV volume should grow 3-5 per cent this fiscal, rebounding from last fiscal's slowdown and aligning with the sector's long-term growth trend," said Anuj Sethi, Senior Director at Crisil Ratings Ltd.
The recovery will be driven by a revival in infrastructure execution, an anchor for CV demand which gained momentum in the last quarter of fiscal 2025 and is likely to sustain on the back of a 10-11 per cent rise in central government capex, he noted.
A strong replacement cycle, expected to account for about a fifth of the volume, will further support demand, Sethi added.
The rating agency said that the regulatory changes will reshape the CV landscape this fiscal, with mandatory air-conditioned cabins in trucks coming into place from October this year, likely increasing costs by at least Rs 30,000 per unit, particularly for M&HCVs.
For the record, CV makers have already increased prices by 2-3 per cent in January to offset the rise in compliance costs, it added.
It further said that softening input costs should support an operating margin of 11-12 per cent in line with the decadal high logged last fiscal.
While capital expenditure (capex) for regulatory upgrades and electric platform development will rise 12-15 per cent, strong cash flows will keep debt levels low and balance sheets healthy, according to Crisil.
"With regulatory costs rising, CV makers are likely to continue selective price hikes to protect margins at 11-12 per cent.
" Meanwhile, capex is set to rise, with leading players planning spends worth around Rs 4,500 crore this fiscal toward safety upgrades, emission compliance, and electric vehicle platforms," said Poonam Upadhyay, Director at Crisil Ratings Ltd.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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