Govt: No basmati export below $1,200/tonne

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, August 27

The government on Sunday announced new export control measures to check the domestic prices and ensure domestic food security in rice, especially the non-basmati rice which is being misclassified for exports.

The Commerce Ministry has now asked Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) to register and allot contracts for basmati exports. The government has decided not to allow basmati export below $1,200 per tonne. It has directed APEDA to keep existing contracts below $1,200 per tonne in abeyance and get the export orders evaluated by a committee headed by its chairman.

The committee must find out the variation in prices and use of this route for export of non-basmati white rice. The government’s suspicions have arisen because of the large variation in the contract price of basmati being exported. The contract price is as low as $359 per tonne in some cases as against the average export price of $1,214 during the current month. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a month to enable a decision on the low-value basmati rice exports.

Despite restriction on certain varieties, rice exports have been high. Up to August 17, total rice exports (except broken rice) were 7.33 million tonne compared to 6.37 million tonne during the corresponding period of previous year, registering an increase of 15%. There has been a spurt in the export of both parboiled and basmati rice; both varieties did not have any restriction on exports.