Edible oil industry body SEA on Friday demanded the government to lift the export ban on De-oiled Rice Bran, saying the curb has not brought down milk prices but only affected processors and exporters.The government imposed a ban on the export of DORB in July 2023 for four months and later extended it till Mar. 31 this year to address inflation in milk prices.DORB, extracted from rice bran, is used in the production of animal nutrition products catering to cattle, poultry, swine and other industries.Solvent Extractors Association of India, in representation to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala, requested the government to lift the export ban on DORB."This export restriction on DORB was imposed since July 2023 to ease the milk prices, however, we have seen almost no reduction in milk prices across the country since this ban. This is because the cost component of DORB in milk price is very nominal," the SEA representation said."We are still of the view that continuing this ban will not support the reduction in milk prices but will continue to negatively impact the Rice Bran processors and DORB exporters," it added.Further, SEA said that an abrupt change in the export policy has given opportunity to competing countries like Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh to capture the Vietnam market for De-oiled Rice Bran and will be lost in no time.Eastern states, including West Bengal, are significant producers of DORB, the cattle feed industry remains underdeveloped in this part of the country and there is limited demand for it in eastern India.The exorbitant local freight charges to move DORB from Eastern India to South or Western India make export the principal means of disposal for DORB in the region, it said."Since export is banned, Rice Bran processors in Eastern India are facing the prospect of shutting down their operations, adversely impacting the rice milling industry and reducing Rice Bran Oil production," SEA said.With the commencement of new season from November 2023 onwards, the industry body said the processing of Rice Bran has picked up and availability of DORB has greatly improved which is evident from the reduction of price from Rs 18,000 per tonne on Jul. 28, 2023, to Rs 12,500 per tonne at present."In view of the above facts and the sharp fall in the price of DORB, we request the government to kindly lift the ban imposed on the export of DORB. We also emphasize that the restriction imposed should not extend beyond Mar. 31, 2024," SEA added.It is crucial to note that the total export of DORB constitutes only around 6% of the production, and its restriction has adversely affected processors and exporters along with paddy farmers, hindering them from realising better returns on their produce, it said.Moreover, the industry benefits from the export of DORB, as easy clearance of meals leads to sustained processing, leading to better capacity utilisation, continuous oil availability, increased employment, and significant value addition along with valuable foreign exchange.India over the last 30 years has successfully developed this export market for DORB, primarily serving Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh and other Asian countries, positioning it as a reliable supplier in the international market, it added.