The production of basmati rice will likely be affected as the just-ended South-West monsoon turned out to be truant., In addition, there has been a diversion of area to sugarcane and non-basmati rice, besides reports of pest attacks. 

“My basmati crop is good but there are problems in northern Haryana areas of Kaithal,” said Shamsher Singh of Ugalan Khera Rangran village in Hansi block in Haryana’s Hisar district.  

“Though my crop is fine, we hear floods have affected the basmati crop in other districts of Haryana. The production could be lower than last  year,” said  Kuldeep Singh of Ajaib village in Meham taluk of Rohtak district. 

Yield may be hit

“Truant weather this year is expected to affect yield this year. In States such as Punjab, farmers have switched over to cultivating Permal variety rice instead of basmati as demand for it is good,” said  a raw material procurement official of a private firm in Punjab. 

Permal rice was fetching a good price and farmers were getting remunerative returns without much effort. “Domestic demand for such rice is up due to ethanol manufacturing,” the official, who did not wish to be identified, said. 

“This year, there is bumper production on basmati rice. Even farmers who have replanted the rice after damage due to floods are set to reap a bumper crop,” said Bhagwan Das, Secretary-General, Young Farmers’ Association Punjab. 

However, the problem was exporters were not buying basmati in protest against the minimum export price of $1,200 fixed by the Centre, he said. 

Govt may revise MEP

Exporters under the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) have kept off agricultural produce marketing committee (APMC) yards urging the Centre to lower the MEP. On Sunday, the Centre said it was considering revising the MEP though it has not spelt any timeframe. Late on Thursday, AIREA withdrew its boycott.

“Exporters usually ship blended basmati. Now since buyers abroad are aware of the MEP, they are opposing the blended consignments,” said the procurement official. 

Arthiyas (commission agents) in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana said the crop was good till now, though a 5-10 per cent fall in production is likely. 

Usually, Basmati 1121 variety, used for blends, arrives between mid-August and mid-September, followed by Pusa basmati in November and traditional basmati in December. 

Domestic millers take advantage

“Only 1121 and 1509 basmati arrivals have begun. But I plan to harvest my crop after 10-15 days,” said Naresh Kumar Singh of Barhan Majra village in Nilokheri taluk of Karnal district. 

Trade sources said domestic millers are utilising the opportunity of exporters keeping away from APMC yards to procure the rice at a cheaper rate.  The 25-40 per cent of the normal trade that is happening at the APMC yards is on account of this.  

According to Neeraj Sharma of Kharkhali village in Kunda tehsil of Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district, his basmati crop is in a good shape. “But I have cut the area. In neighbouring areas, too, farmers have shifted from basmati to sugarcane,” he said.

In Punjab, basmati was sown on  5.74 lakh hectares (lh) till August 14 this year. The area was 4.94 lh in 2021-22 and 4.06 lh in 2020-21.

Fears of pest attacks

 According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) survey, basmati was cultivated on 16.31 lh across the country. The area in Haryana under the fragrant rice was 6.55 lh and in Uttar Pradesh it was 3.11 lh. 

Dilbagh Sing of Bhurde village in Ropar district of Punjab’s Rupnagar district said his basmati crop was in good shape though his relatives elsewhere in Punjab and Haryana have reported crop loss due to weather. 

Mandeep Singh of Attewali village in Sirhind tehsil of Haryana’s Fategarh district said his crop was not looking good with recent rains threatening it further. “Moreover, there are pest attacks, particularly on the leaves,” he said. 

Exports up

But some farmers and traders said the pest attack threats have been washed away by recent spell of rains, which are lashing parts of Haryana and Punjab.

The procurement official said farmers have been agitating against lower offers made by exporters and millers, who had initially bought aggressively on fears of the crop being affected. 

According to APEDA data, basmati exports during April-August of the current fiscal were 2.01 million tonnes (mt) valued at $2.23 billion compared with 1.88 mt valued at $1.96 million a year ago. 

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