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India is hopeful that China will provide market access to its non-basmati rice – blocked till now as quality norms have not been defined between the two countries – during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit later this week.
“The solution to the problem is simple. We have suggested to China that the protocol that exists for exporting basmati rice should be adopted for exporting non-basmati rice as well,” a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine.
China, which began importing rice four years ago and annually imports about 5 million tonnes, has not granted access to Indian non-basmati rice. The absence of defined phyto-sanitary norms between the two countries is cited by the China as the main reason for not importing from India.
China, however, has been sourcing its rice from countries such as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand. In fact, the steady increase in its purchases from these countries has kept the Vietnamese prices firm.
“We see a potential to export up to onr million tonnes of non-basmati rice to China, provided they grant us market access,” said BV Krishna Rao, Managing Director, Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, the country’s largest non-basmati rice exporter.
Rao, who represents the Agri Exporters Association, said India can offer better quality, price and a wider variety to China.
The Commerce Ministry has already sent the documentation for establishing the quality protocol by the AQSIQ – the Chinese quality management institute that gives approvals for a variety of imports – to Beijing.
“The AQSIQ required certain documents to extend the protocol existing for basmati rice to non-basmati, and we have already sent them,” the official said.
When the Prime Minister visits Beijing on May 14, India is hopeful that the required quality protocol would be implemented.
Though China has opened up its market for Indian basmati in 2012, hardly any direct shipments have taken place, industry sources said. China is still in the process of registering the Indian mills, although some basmati rice shipments are being exported indirectly through Hong Kong.
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