The record exports allowed Asian and African countries to import the staple at a time when supplies of wheat and other grains were hit by drought and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Industry players say output-based incentives will have a greater likelihood of achieving productivity growth than input subsidies.

India accounts for more than 40% of global rice shipments and competes with Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and Myanmar.

Rice is the latest in a string of commodities that have faced export curbs this year as governments struggled to raise supplies and fight inflation amid trade disruptions triggered by the Ukraine war.

The government has excluded parboiled and basmati rice from the export duty, which will come into effect from Sept 9.

Across rice farms in this Indian Ocean island, the bleak picture is emerging that the summer harvest could be as low as half that of previous years, according to experts.

Rice has bucked the trend of rising food prices amid bumper crops and large inventories at exporters over the past two years, even as Covid-19, supply disruptions and more recently the Russia-Ukraine conflict made other grains costlier.

Competitive prices boosted rice bran oil consumption since March and has encouraged companies to extract more oil.

One significant advantage of increased crop yields is to reduce the need for forests to be cleared for food production.

After being exposed to cosmic radiation and zero gravity, some seeds can mutate and produce higher yields when planted back on Earth.