Better export of Basmati rice in October-December quarter
20-Mar-2025 05:06 PM
New Delhi. There was better export of Basmati rice from the country during the third quarter of the current financial year i.e. October-December 2024.
According to the available data, the export income of Basmati rice in October 2024 was close to $ 510 million, which after falling to around $ 380 million in November, again jumped to $ 562 million in December.
Although the arrival of new goods of Basmati rice in the domestic sector started in the last week of September, but strong supply took place in October-December.
Data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a subordinate body of the Union Ministry of Commerce, shows that in the first nine months of the current financial year (2024-25), i.e. during April-December 2024, the export of Basmati rice from the country increased to 42.40 lakh tonnes, which was 7 lakh tonnes more than the shipment of 35.40 lakh tonnes in April-December 2023. As a result, the income from the export of Basmati rice also increased from $ 3.97 billion to $ 4.32 billion during the same period.
According to industry analysts, if the minimum export price (MAP) of $ 950 per tonne was maintained,
then the shipment of Basmati rice during the current financial year could have declined or at the most its shipment could have remained equal to the previous financial year, but with the removal of MAP,
Indian exporters got an opportunity to contract and ship Basmati rice at a lower price. Now some analysts are saying that many exporters are facing unnecessary competition, so the government should crack down on those exporting rice at low prices. Basmati rice is a premium quality product and its dignity should be maintained.
After the end of MAP, the export offer price of Basmati rice fell sharply by about $ 250 per tonne. As a result, the expected increase in the prices of Basmati paddy in the domestic sector could not happen. Overall, the export earnings of rice are declining.