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Navigating India’s DORB Market Post-2023: Recommendations for Stakeholders

India’s De-oiled Rice Bran (DORB) market has undergone a transformative journey since the government’s pivotal export ban in July 2023. Once a balanced participant in global feed ingredient trade, India became a domestically focused market almost overnight, creating unique winners, losers, and policy debates. As the ban stretches toward its latest extension (September 2025), the entire value chain—from feed manufacturers to policymakers—must rethink its strategies. This blog explores actionable recommendations for each crucial stakeholder, ensuring resilience, profitability, and long-term sectoral health.

1. Recommendations for Feed Manufacturers

Leverage Cost Advantage, Within Nutritional Limits
The post-ban era has seen DORB prices plummet to historic lows—often less than half the price of soybean meal and far cheaper than maize. Smart feed manufacturers are maximizing DORB inclusion, especially in poultry and aquaculture, to lower overall feed costs and sustain profitability—even in a price-competitive animal protein industry.

But caution is key:

  • Respect species-specific nutritional limits, as DORB’s high fiber and anti-nutritional factors (like phytates) can impact feed conversion ratios, particularly in young birds and aquatic species.

  • Regularly monitor shifts in maize and soybean meal prices and rebalance feed rations as economics dictate.

Invest in Processing & Technology

  • Adopt enzyme supplementation, solid-state fermentation, or amino acid balancing to improve DORB digestibility and expand its utility—especially for non-ruminants.

  • Stay alert for R&D that might unlock higher, safer inclusion rates.

Stay Agile on Policy

  • Closely track government notifications—policy shifts (especially an eventual ban lift) will instantly reset input costs and formulation incentives. Be ready to adapt.

2. Strategies for DORB Processors (Especially in Eastern India)

Advocate for Predictable Policy

  • Work proactively with industry groups and government to push for transparent, stable export policies. The market instability triggered by abrupt bans has hurt processors’ viability and India’s international reputation.

Explore Domestic Linkages

  • Forge direct supply partnerships with large feed manufacturers in western and southern India, where DORB demand is strong.

  • Where feasible, invest in better logistics—shared transport, bulk handling—to reduce outbound costs, even if margins are tight for now.

Value Addition and Diversification

  • Develop higher-quality, standardized DORB grades to meet premium feed requirements.

  • Explore parallel value streams (e.g., extraction of gamma-oryzanol or rice bran wax, or use in specialty applications like human food or industrial products).

3. Guidance for Policymakers

Revisit the Export Ban’s Effectiveness

  • Industry data overwhelmingly show that the DORB export ban had negligible effect (less than 1%) on milk prices, but caused lasting harm to processors, exporters, and India’s agricultural trade reputation.

  • Undertake an honest, data-driven evaluation of costs versus benefits.

Promote Long-Term Stability

  • Shift from ad hoc policy to predictable, long-term frameworks for feed ingredient exports.

  • Consider targeted, direct support for dairy farmers (if fodder costs remain a concern) rather than disruptive, sector-wide trade bans.

Support Innovation and Infrastructure

  • Invest in R&D for mitigating DORB’s nutritional limitations (support for enzyme technology, fermentation, etc.).

  • Address transport and logistics bottlenecks—especially the movement of feedstock from surplus eastern regions to feed-deficit western and southern markets.

4. Recommendations for Paddy Farmers

Stay Informed and Engaged

  • Recognize how downstream policy changes (like DORB trade bans) affect rice bran prices, which can ultimately impact farm gate earnings.

  • Support advocacy for stable, predictable value chains—everyone benefits from a healthy processing and export sector.

5. Overall Industry Best Practices

Diversify Sourcing and Stay Informed

  • Both buyers and sellers benefit from not being overly dependent on any single policy or commodity: diversify your supply chain, monitor international trends, and be ready to pivot.

Embrace Technology Adoption

  • Whether processing, feed formulation, or logistics, the industry’s winners in the next decade will be those that invest in and adopt innovation at every step.

The Road Ahead

As India’s DORB market moves through 2025 and beyond, success will depend on collaboration, information-sharing, and bold leadership across the value chain. Smart feed manufacturers, adaptive processors, forward-thinking policymakers, and informed farmers together can ensure that DORB continues to support India’s vast and growing livestock sector—all while maintaining the resilience needed to weather future disruptions.

Are you ready for the next chapter in India’s DORB story? Now is the time to connect, innovate, and advocate for policies that deliver growth for all.


For personalized recommendations, market insights, or to explore supply partnerships, reach out to experts at Rudrapur Solvents Private Limited—your trusted partner in the evolving world of animal nutrition.

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