India 2010-11 Basmati Exports Rebound Despite First Half Fall .

India's basmati rice exports likely rose by up to 15% in the fiscal year which ended March 31 after recovering from a fall in the initial six months, the head of the state-run farm exports body said. India, the world's largest basmati supplier, exported 2 million metric tons in the 2009-10 fiscal years. India is the world's top producer and exporter of aromatic, premium basmati rice, and neighboring Pakistan is its main rival.

Basmati exports were in negative territory until October[but] the basmati trade has been very active in the last three months, Asit Tripathy, chairman of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, said.

Considering that we had nearly 30% growth in [basmati] volume in the 2009-10 fiscal year, this time it was expected that the growth would plateau in the sense that it was a huge base, Tripathy said.” Even so, there seems to be growth.

Tripathy said that basmati exports were able to maintain their growth due to increased domestic production of a variety called Pusa 1121 and brisk demand from traditional buyers in the Middle East as well as new markets such as the U.S. and Europe.

India allows basmati shipments with a floor price of $900 a ton, while the export of non-basmati rice is banned. The country produced 4.0 million to 4.5 million tons of basmati rice in 2009-10. The harvest is likely to be 4.5 million-5 million tons in the year through June.Tripathy added also that the state-run agency would intervene if there are prolonged payment problems with Iran, one of the key buyers of Indian basmati.

Indian traders say they have been finding it difficult to receive payments for exports after India's central bank in December stopped Iran-related payments going through a regional clearing house that the U.S. says Tehran is using to evade international sanctions.

Tripathy said that the export growth of all farm products, led by basmati rice, likely crossed INR400 billion in 2010-11, from INR360 billion in the previous year. Exports of groundnuts, beverages, buffalo meat and processed food items were all showing buoyant growth.He said that contract farming of everything from fruits to vegetables has picked up across several regions, improving the quality and supply chain for exports.

Source : indiainfoline.com