Non-basmati rice exporters keen to scale Chinese wall

Indian rice exporters keen to tap the Chinese market want the Union Government to take up the issue of non-tariff barriers with visiting President Xi Jinping this week.

China, which began importing rice for the past four years, has not granted access to the Indian non-basmati rice in absence of any defined phytosanitary norms between the two neighbouring countries. However, China has been sourcing its requirement from countries such as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand.

Though China opened up its market for Indian basmati in 2012, the non-basmati varieties cannot be exported because of a lack of a phyto protocol.

“Without the phyto protocols in place, we cannot initiate our exports to China. The Government should take up this issue so that our exports are facilitated,” said B Krishna Rao, representing the Agri Exporters Association. Any increase in exports will eventually benefit the growers, considering that the Government has decided to cut down the levy rice procurement from the 2014-15 kharif marketing season. Trade sources feel that Indian non-basmati rice was denied access to Chinese market for political reasons.

“If they can buy from Pakistan, they can buy better quality Indian rice as well,” said Tejinder Narang, a grains trade analyst. “Chinese rice imports are rising every year as they are moving away from water-intensive crops and India should not be ignored in this regard,” he added.

China’s rice imports were close to around 5 million tonnes last year and the steady increase in its purchases have kept the Vietnamese prices firm.

India has emerged as the biggest rice exporter in the recent years with annual shipments hovering or exceeding 10 million tonnes on firm demand for its cereal mainly from African countries and renewed interest from Russia and Ukraine. The exporters here are keen to gain access to the Chinese market considering that India can offer better quality and price and a wider variety.

“If Russia, which is the most stringent in quality norms, is accepting the Indian rice without any hitch, China should ideally not have any issues. India, as a supplier, ideally suits China in terms of dependability,” said an official at a large commodity exporting firm.