Payment stuck abroad, basmati exporters edgy

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, March 22

The outbreak of Covid in various countries has resulted in unease among basmati exporters.

They are afraid that their payment in crores may get stuck as due to the outbreak. Courier service has been suspended in several countries and hence, documents of export consignments cannot be sent to buyers. So, payments may get held up.

Bank services have also been suspended for some time in some countries. That may also lead to delay in payment to Indian exporters.

India exports around 44 lakh tonnes of basmati to around 140 countries of the world. Of these, 33 per cent goes to Iran, said the All-India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA). Everything was going well till the end of February. But as March started, the Covid outbreak resulted in slowdown in exports.

“Due to Covid, the courier service in some countries has been suspended. Hence, essential documents regarding their release of payment have also been stuck.

Bank services in some countries are being suspended. That may lead to our payment — in crores – getting stuck,” said Nathi Ram Gupta, president, AIREA.

The exporters fear that if ships are stopped for 14 days at seashores, then it may further lead to loss to the industry.

The exporters said that due to this scare, the rates of rice have come down by 10 per cent in the Indian market in the past three weeks.