India Lifts Its De-Oiled Rice Bran (DORB) Export Ban: Buyer Guide

If you tried to source de-oiled rice bran (DORB) from India between mid-2023 and October 2025 and came away with nothing, the reason is simple: export was prohibited. The same prohibition explains why published trade statistics look implausibly small for a product India makes at real scale. DGFT Notification No. 37/2025-26, effective 3 October 2025, lifted the prohibition and returned DORB to Free export status. This update is for feed mills, feed-ingredient traders and livestock integrators who used Indian DORB before the ban or are considering it for the first time. It covers what changed, how to read the numbers, which grade parameters to specify, and what to expect when you rebuild the supply chain.

Don't read the market-data table above as normal demand. The figures are real, primary-tier WITS/UN Comtrade data, but they are easy to misread. Calendar-2024 DORB exports total just USD 417,150 across five destinations: Nepal, Sweden, Bangladesh, Germany and the Maldives. That is almost negligible for a product produced at DORB's normal scale. The ban was in force for the whole calendar year, so the figure reflects the ban, not weak demand, limited Indian supply or a small buyer base. Nepal, Bangladesh and other regional land and short-sea markets are the natural high-volume destinations once trade normalises, based on general feed-ingredient trade patterns in the region. That is a reasonable expectation, not something the 2024 numbers show. Full post-ban 2026 data has not been published yet. Until the table is refreshed with post-liberalisation figures, treat it as a record of the ban period, not a guide to market size.

Who was still buying under HS 2302.40 during the ban?

Almost entirely Nepal, by weight, plus a few small lots that are clearly not feed-grade DORB. Dividing the WITS/UN Comtrade 2024 value by weight:

Nepal took 90% of the weight and 63% of the value, at about USD 0.13 per kg, which is in line with a bulk feed ingredient moving by road. Sweden took less than half a percent of the weight but 24% of the value, at about 75 times Nepal's unit value. That is not cattle feed: HS 2302.40 covers bran of other cereals, and a lot at nearly USD 10 per kg is a specialty or food-grade product sharing the heading. The data cannot say which product each row is, or under what terms it left India during the ban, so read it as a mix.

The practical point is the average. The all-market figure of about USD 0.18 per kg blends the Nepal feed flow with specialty lots, and it describes neither. Scenario: a Bangladeshi feed mill benchmarking a new DORB offer against the 2024 average would be comparing it with a number pulled up by a few tonnes shipped to Europe. Compare offers with each other, at the same protein and sand specification, until post-ban data is published.

Why did India ban DORB exports, and for how long?

DORB is an important cattle-feed ingredient in India's own dairy and livestock sector. The export prohibition, in place from July 2023, was brought in to protect domestic supply and keep feed costs manageable for Indian farmers. It lasted about 27 months:

This is a recurring pattern in Indian agricultural export policy. When a commodity matters for domestic food or feed security, the government uses export restrictions fairly readily, sometimes with little advance notice. Scenario: a feed mill that signs a 12-month DORB programme should assume the policy could change during that year, and write a clause that suspends shipments, rather than voiding the contract, if export status changes.

Is raw rice bran covered by the same ban-lift?

No. This is the easiest mistake to make when coming back to this market. DORB (de-oiled rice bran, HS 2302.40 / 2306.90) is what remains after rice bran oil is solvent-extracted from raw rice bran: a defatted residue high in fibre and protein. Raw or boiled rice bran (HS 2302.20) is a different product under a different customs heading. It remains Restricted and can be exported only under licence. The ban-lift applies to DORB only. If a supplier offers "rice bran" without naming the product and HS code, confirm before you order, because the wrong product may not be able to clear customs legally.

Which DORB grade parameters belong in your purchase order?

For a feed mill this is a genuine reopening of a supply option, not a marginal development. We can quote DORB for export now, under the same specification and documentation process as any other feed ingredient. A feed-grade DORB contract is specified on five parameters:

The figures translate directly into feed value. At 14-16% crude protein, a tonne of DORB carries 140-160 kg of protein. Sand and silica carry none, so every 5 percentage points of sand is 50 kg per tonne of material the mill pays for, ships and grinds without any feed value; two lots quoted at the same protein, one at 15% sand and one at 10%, differ by 50 kg of sand in every tonne, or about 1 tonne in a 20-tonne lot. Fibre decides where the ingredient goes. Cattle rations can take high-fibre DORB, while poultry rations limit fibre, so a poultry integrator should set a tighter crude fibre ceiling and expect a narrower choice of lots. Feed mills also commonly test bran products for aflatoxin; if your feed regulations or customers set an aflatoxin limit, put it in the contract and ask for it on the certificate of analysis.

Packing is in 25kg or 50kg PP bags, 1 MT jumbo bags (FIBC), or bulk vessel loading for large contracts. DORB has a low bulk density, so a bagged 20ft container holds roughly 18-20 MT and a 40ft roughly 22-24 MT. Tell us your target protein and fibre, and any sand/silica ceiling, and we will quote against that grade rather than a generic one.

Because DORB's export status has changed twice in just over two years, the export paperwork should show the current policy position. The invoice and shipping documents need to state HS 2302.40 or 2306.90 and describe the product as de-oiled rice bran, not "rice bran" alone. On the destination side, feed-ingredient import registration, or an import permit where the destination requires one, is the importer's responsibility and varies by country. Confirm it before booking, especially if your registration dates from before the ban.

Scenario: a buyer reuses a 2022 purchase-order template that says "rice bran, feed grade" with no HS code, and the letter of credit copies that wording. Indian customs is entitled to ask whether the goods are DORB, which is Free, or raw rice bran under HS 2302.20, which still needs a licence, and the shipping bill and the LC now have to agree with whatever the goods are declared as. One generic line can mean a held shipment at the Indian port and an LC amendment at the bank. Name the product, the HS code and the de-oiled specification on the contract, the LC and the invoice from the start.

Indian export policy on feed and food commodities has changed with little notice before, as this ban and its lifting both show. Confirm current DORB status when you place each order rather than assuming Free status is permanent, the same caution we apply to onion, wheat and other policy-sensitive products. Share your compliance checklist and we will confirm the documentation for your shipment.

What will likely determine the price you're quoted

Because DORB export has only just reopened, near-term pricing behaviour is less established than for a continuously-traded commodity — treat any benchmark from before July 2023 as a starting reference point, not a current quote. What's likely to matter once trade normalises: domestic Indian cattle-feed demand competing for the same raw material (DORB doesn't stop being useful inside India just because export reopened, so domestic and export demand will compete for supply), protein and fibre grade, sand/silica content (higher-tolerance material typically prices lower), currency, and freight to your specific destination. We'd rather tell you honestly that the post-ban price picture is still forming than quote a number that implies more certainty than currently exists.

Quotes are issued FOB, CIF or CFR against your specific grade, packaging and destination port. To get an accurate quote fast, tell us: your target protein/fibre spec, any sand/silica ceiling, packaging preference, quantity, and destination port.

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What to expect re-establishing a DORB supply chain after a two-year gap

If you sourced DORB from India before July 2023 and are coming back to it now, treat this as a fresh setup rather than picking up where you left off. Supplier relationships, documentation templates and specification agreements from more than two years ago shouldn't be assumed to still apply — verify current specification, current documentation requirements, and current supplier capability rather than working from memory of the pre-ban market.

The DORB-vs-raw-rice-bran distinction covered above isn't just a labelling nuance — it's a real, common ordering mistake. A buyer who specifies "rice bran" generically, or works from an old purchase order template that predates the ban-lift notification, risks a supplier quoting or shipping the wrong HS-code product. Always confirm HS code 2302.40 or 2306.90 specifically, not just the product name.

On quality: DORB carries residual oil even after solvent extraction, which makes it more prone to rancidity than whole grains — plan shipments around reasonably prompt turnover (3-6 months) rather than long-term storage, and specify sand/silica tolerance clearly, since this varies more by processing batch than protein content does and is a common source of grade disputes.

What first-time and returning buyers most often get wrong: assuming the market has already "normalised" simply because the ban is lifted. Supply chains, freight routings and typical destination volumes are still re-establishing themselves post-ban — build extra lead time and verification into your first order rather than assuming it will move as smoothly as an established, continuously-traded commodity would.