Shillong, August 27: The government announced its decision on Sunday to prohibit the export of basmati rice below the price of $1,200 per tonne, aiming to prevent potential unauthorized shipments of white non-basmati rice disguised as premium basmati rice.
As per IANS, the commerce ministry issued a statement indicating that the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been directed not to register contracts valued below $1,200 per tonne. For existing contracts falling below this threshold, their implementation has been temporarily suspended.
To further strategize, a committee under the leadership of the APEDA chairman will be established to determine future actions.
This measure follows India’s recent ban on the export of non-basmati white rice, effective from July 20 of this year.
The official statement explained, “The Government has received credible field reports regarding misclassification and illegal export of non-basmati white rice, export of which has been prohibited with effect from 20 July 2023. It has been reported that non-basmati white rice is being exported under the HS codes of parboiled rice and Basmati rice.”
Given that APEDA oversees the regulation of Basmati rice exports and already employs a web-based system for this purpose, the government has instructed APEDA to introduce additional safeguards to prevent the potential illicit export of white non-basmati rice as Basmati rice.
The statement specified, “Contracts for Basmati exports with the value of $1,200 per MT only and above should be registered for issue of Registration – cum – Allocation Certificate (RCAC).”
“Contracts with the value of below $1,200 per MT may be kept in abeyance and may be evaluated by a committee to be set up by the Chairman, APEDA, for understanding the variation in prices and use of this route for export of non-Basmati white rice,” it stated.
Acknowledging significant price variations in the contracts for exported Basmati rice, the government emphasized the need for comprehensive assessment. The committee’s findings, expected within a month, will guide decisions on lower-priced Basmati rice exports, aligned with industry intentions.
Furthermore, the statement directed APEDA to engage in consultations with the trade community, sensitizing them to the matter and collaborating to discourage any misuse of this channel for exporting non-basmati white rice.