"The exports of non-basmati rice have been banned with immediate effect," finance minister P Chidambaram said.

The country, the world''s third-largest exporter after Thailand and Vietnam, annually sells around 4 million tonnes of rice, including about a million tonnes of aromatic Basmati.

Chidambaram said the government also decided to raise the purchase price for paddy to Rs695 per 100 kg from Rs645 for rice of common variety and Rs725 from Rs675 for Grade A variety.

The government raised the purchase price for wheat to Rs1,000 per 100 kg from Rs850.

The government also raised the support price for rapeseed to Rs1,800 per 100 kg from Rs1,715 to encourage oilseeds cultivation.

It also raised the purchase price for safflower oilseeds to Rs1,650 per 100 kg from Rs1,565.

Rapeseed is the main oilseed crop, which is sown in winter months and harvested in the summer months from April.

The country, the world''s leading edible oil buyer, buys almost half of its total consumption of 11 million tonnes annually.

India imports palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia and soyoil from Brazil and Argentina. The imports were likely to be about 5.5 million tonnes in the oil year ending October 2007.

Meanwhile, rice procurement from farmers had been lagging this year with farmers holding back stocks on expectation that prices would increase in the coming months.

State agencies had purchased 2.94 million tonnes of rice from farmers, down from 3.77 million tonnes at the same time a year ago.
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