Considering review of basmati rice minimum export price, says government
New Delhi: The government on Sunday said it is actively considering the review of the minimum export price of USD 1,200 per tonne of basmati rice, amid the industry’s concern that outward shipments have been affected due to high value.
Rice exporters associations have been demanding that this rate should be brought down to around USD 850 per tonne.
On August 27, the commerce ministry directed trade promotion body APEDA not to register export contracts below USD 1,200 per tonne.
“One of the measures being that contracts for basmati rice exports with the value of USD 1200 per tonne and above only may be registered for issue of Registration – cum – Allocation Certificate (RCAC) effective from 25th August 2023,” it added.
Based on the representations received from the rice exporter associations that the high FOB value is adversely affecting the export of basmati rice from India, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal had attended a consultative meet with the basmati rice exporters, the statement said.
The present arrangement will continue until an appropriate decision is taken by the government, it asserted.
According to official sources, India had exported around 45 lakh tonnes of basmati rice during the last fiscal year. In the first half of this fiscal, the country has exported 18 lakh tonnes.
While reviewing this issue, sources said the government would also take into account the price at which other countries, including Pakistan, are selling basmati rice in international markets.
In the statement, the ministry explained that the USD 1200 per tonne value was fixed as “the Government had received credible field reports regarding misclassification and illegal export of non-basmati white rice, exports of which have been prohibited with effect from 20th July 2023.”
“Now, the new crop of basmati has started arriving and there is generally a decline in prices when the new crop starts arriving,” the statement said while giving a rationale for the need for the review.
To keep prices of rice under check, the Centre has already banned exports of broken rice and non-basmati white rice. It has also imposed an export duty on par-boiled non-basmati rice.
