Under the RSS, all White Rice, Basmati Rice, Ponni Rice and Parboiled Rice are classified as stockpile grade rice. Importers of white rice, basmati rice, ponni rice and parboiled rice for local distribution must join the RSS as licensed stockpile participants. Stockpile participants have to pre-commit on the quantity that they wish to import monthly for local distribution. This monthly amount is known as the Monthly Import Quantity (MIQ) which can be adjusted under certain conditions and notice period, driven by market forces. The minimum MIQ for white rice is 50 tonnes. There is no minimum MIQ for basmati rice, ponni rice and parboiled rice.
The stockpile participant must also keep a Stockpile Quantity (SQ) in a government-designated warehouse. The Stockpile Quantity is twice the MIQ for white rice and twice the average monthly import quantity for ponni rice, parboiled rice and basmati rice. The Stockpile Quantity shall be constantly replaced with new stock and shall not be kept in the government-designated warehouses for more than a year. Each stockpile participant is expected to rotate their stocks.
