Possibility of reduction in minimum export price of Basmati rice
03-Jul-2024 11:21 AM
New Delhi. During the last financial year, there was a record export of Basmati rice from India and the export performance was also better in the first quarter of the current financial year.
The government wants to continue this trend going forward, so it is considering reducing the minimum export price (MAP) so that Indian exporters do not have to face much tough competition in the global export market.
It is noteworthy that in August 2023, the government suddenly fixed a minimum export price (MAP) of $ 1200 per tonne for Basmati rice, due to which its shipment started getting stuck and the price of Basmati paddy also started coming down in the domestic markets.
Later in October, the government reduced the MAP to $ 950 per tonne and then the export started increasing strongly. Now the global market price of Basmati rice has come down, due to which Indian exporters are facing difficulties.
In fact, due to heavy purchases in importing countries and strong supply from India, the global market price of some varieties of Basmati rice has come down to below $ 950 per ton.
A good stock of Basmati rice is still present in the importing countries, so now the exporters are not interested in buying it at a higher price.
According to exporters, the high MAP may affect the purchase of Basmati rice from farmers during the upcoming purchase marketing season in the domestic sector because millers and exporters will want to buy it at a lower price.
This will reduce the income of the producers of Basmati rice. In the global market, the price of Pusa 6 and Pusa 1509 varieties of Basmati rice has now come down to $ 750-800 per ton and Pakistani exporters are offering the same price level. Due to this, the export business of Indian rice is likely to be affected.
It is understood that an important meeting of a committee of ministers is going to be held soon in which a decision can be taken to remove or reduce the MAP fixed for Basmati rice. This will also provide relief to Basmati rice producers in the future.