Basmati exporter Vijay Setia, a former president of All India Rice Exporters Association, has written a letter to the government seeking review of the current rice export policy — ban on white non-Basmati rice, 20 per cent export duty on parboiled non-Basmati rice and minimum export price of $950/tonne on Basmati rice.
In a letter addressed to secretaries of Commerce and Food, Setia has said t there is a need for improvement in the current rice export policy.
Claiming that the Government has successfully controlled “rice inflation”, he said it is high time that the policy was re-evaluated in the changing scenario of comfortable availability of the grain. “The current policy is getting weak with time and many exporters are finding loopholes for taking advantage,” he said and suggested the government to remove the discrimination and regional disparity among all rice varieties.
Uniform duty
He has requested a uniform export duty of $100 per tonne on non-Basmati and Basmati rice. There are reports of Basmati Paddy varieties 1509 and Pusa PB1 selling below MSP in UP, Haryana and Punjab and it is quite disturbing and a big loss for the growers, he said.
Setia said since export tax is paid by the importers/foreign buyers, it does not affect Indian exporters and have no direct effect on domestic prices.
He said India produces many superior non-Basmati varieties in different regions that fetch higher prices in both domestic market and abroad as compared to some Basmati varieties. “Prominent varieties from non-Basmati like Kala Namak, Raja Bog, Sona Masoori, Black Rice, Red rice and medicinal rice if allowed for export, could bring better revenue for the economy in comparison to some Basmati varieties,” he said.
The former president of the industry body AIREA said a bumper crop is expected soon when government warehouses are full. “So, the government can relax export restrictions and it will improve the quality of export and ease of doing business,” he said.