Request to reduce MAP of Basmati rice to $ 700 per tonne

02-Sep-2024 12:50 PM

New Delhi. Rice exporters have written a letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to intervene in the matter of reducing the minimum export price (MAP) of Basmati rice.

All India Rice Exporters Association (AREA) has said in its letter that at present the MAP of rice is fixed at $ 950 per tonne whereas the government should consider reducing it to $ 700 per tonne because Indian Basmati rice has become non-competitive in the international market due to this high MAP.

The export offer price of Pakistani Basmati rice is running 50-100 dollars per tonne lower than that of India. Indian exporters cannot contract their Basmati rice at a price less than $ 950 per tonne. This is giving Pakistan a great opportunity to move ahead in the global export market.

Pakistani exporters are selling Basmati rice at the rate of $ 800 per tonne. The letter states that India can regain its competitiveness only when the export price of Indian Basmati rice remains around $700 per tonne.

Only then will Indian exporters be able to sell their product in the international market at the rate of $750-800 per tonne.

It is understood that the Government of India is considering reducing the map of Basmati rice from $950 to $850 per tonne. 

But the association says that the minimum export price should be below $850 per tonne. Only when this price comes down to around $700 per tonne, India will be able to maintain its dominance in the export market of Basmati rice.

The association has assured the government that non-Basmati rice will not be exported in the name of Basmati rice because the global market price of non-Basmati rice is running below $600 per tonne. There is a huge export of rice to the Gulf region.