Call for Restructuring of Basmati Export Development Foundation

20-Apr-2026 05:59 PM

Chandigarh. The Punjab Rice Millers Exporters Association has urged the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry to order a restructuring of the Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF) and to implement comprehensive changes to its framework in alignment with the evolving circumstances.

Notably, the Basmati Export Development Foundation made headlines last year when the mandatory contract registration fee for rice exporters was more than doubled. Currently, the Foundation is administered by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)—a body functioning under the Ministry of Commerce. The exporters' association from Punjab asserts that efforts to initiate necessary reforms within the Foundation must be undertaken on a priority basis.

It is pertinent to note that the contract registration fee for Basmati rice exports was previously fixed at ₹30 per tonne; however, in September 2025, this fee was more than doubled and set at ₹70 per tonne. Even at that time, the Association had written to APEDA, terming this fee hike as an arbitrary decision that was both abnormal and burdensome, and had demanded its immediate withdrawal.

Basmati rice exporters from Haryana had also made a similar appeal to the government; however, disregarding these pleas and appeals, the government proceeded to implement the decision regarding the fee hike. The prevailing circumstances are currently far from favorable for Basmati rice exporters.