Under pressure over falling paddy prices, the Centre on Friday acceded to the demand of rice millers and farmers in the state and removed the minimum export price (MEP) of $950 per metric tonne (MT) on Basmati.
For the millers, the MEP had become a hurdle to get export orders, resulting in gains for neighbouring Pakistan, while Punjab’s Basmati growers were anxious about not getting fair price for their produce.
Santosh Kumar Sarangi, additional secretary, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), confirmed to TOI that the MEP had been lifted.
He, however, added that as of now there is no decision on non-Basmati rice. India has banned the export of non-Basmati white rice since July 20, 2023 to ensure that there is enough rice for domestic consumption and to keep prices down.
Later in the day, Union ministry of commerce and industry wrote to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority to convey the decision to remove the MEP for issuing registration-cum-allocation certificates (RCAC) for export of Basmati.
Scrapping of Basmati MEP to benfit Pb rice millers, farmers
Elated over the decision, Punjab Basmati Rice Millers and Exporters Association’s vice-president Ranjit Singh Jossan said the move will open global markets for the rice exporters.
The milling industry had demanded significant changes in India’s rice export policies, including withdrawal of the MEP for Basmati, to ensure that the Indian Basmati industry remains competitive in world markets, he said.
On the other hand, Amarjit Sekhon, a Basmati farmer from Amritsar, said Basmati stocks have already started arriving in the Amritsar markets but so far the rates had been down as millers were focussing on carry forward rice from previous season.
“The rate was low at Rs 2,700 per quintal. But when the news of the possible reduction of MEP spread, it rose to Rs 3,000 per quintal on Thursday. Last year, we had sold it for upto Rs 3,500 per quintal,” he said.
Earlier, the Centre had reduced the MEP for Basmati from $1,200 to $950 per tonne in October 2023. The MEP was initially imposed to curb illegal shipments of white non-Basmati rice.
During a recent meeting in Delhi, the representatives of Punjab Basmati Rice Millers and Exporters Association led by its president Bal Krishan Bali had submitted a formal demand letter to Prahlad Joshi, the Union minister for consumer affairs.
India is the leading exporter of Basmati to the world and exported 52,42,048.39 MT of Basmati worth Rs 48,389 crore during 2023-24.
Major export destinations include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, United Arab, USA, and Yemen Republic. Two other demands of rice millers are under consideration.
These include lifting the export ban on non-Basmati rice and abolishing 20% duty, as well as a separate Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) code for steamed rice.
