| Date: |
14-06-2010 |
| Subject: |
Exporters seek lifting of ban on high-quality non-basmati rice |
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NEW DELHI: Rice exporters on Sunday asked the government to allow export of high quality varieties of non-basmati rice like Ponni and Sharbati to provide better income to farmers.
"The government should review its decision to ban export of non-basmati rice and at least it should allow shipments of superior varieties," the newly elected President of the All India Rice Exporters Association, Vijay Setia, said.
The Centre had banned shipments of non-basmati rice in April, 2008, as part of measures to control inflation. But basmati rice exports are allowed.
"If government opens export of non-basmati varieties like Sona Masoori, Ponni, Sugandha and Sharbati, this would generate a lot of foreign exchange and revenue for it. Even farmers will get greater returns for their produce," he said.
Setia noted that superior varieties of non-basmati rice account for about 10 per cent of the country's total rice production.
India, the world's second largest producer of rice, is estimated to have harvested 89.31 million tonnes of rice in 2009-10 against 99.18 million tonnes in the previous year.
The sharp decline was because of severe drought last year that hit almost half of the country, resulting in crop losses.
Setia said there is adequate availability of rice in the country, despite the fall in production in the 2009-10 crop year.
"In Punjab alone, around 25 lakh tonnes of the PAU 201 variety of paddy is lying. Also, in other parts of the country, the scenario is more or less the same. In such a scenario, the government should revise its decision," he said.
Recently, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had said in a letter to Andhra Pradesh MP Ponnam Prabhakar that it was not feasible to permit export of non-basmati rice in view of a likely shortfall in procurement this year.
"There is a need to conserve the rice stocks in view of a likely shortfall in the procurement of rice in the kharif marketing season 2009-10 owing to deficient rainfall in the country," Pawar said.
Source : The Economic Times
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