In order to prevent the potential “illegal” shipment of white non-basmati rice masquerading as premium basmati rice, the government said on Sunday that it would not permit exports of basmati rice below USD 1,200 per tonne.
The commerce ministry stated in a statement that it has told trade promotion agency APEDA not to register contracts for less than USD 1,200 per tonne. Existing contracts below USD 1,200 per tonne have been kept in abeyance. A committee under the chairman of APEDA will be set up to evaluate future point of action. On 20 July of this year, India banned the export of non-basmati white rice.
“The Government has received credible field reports regarding misclassification and illegal export of non-basmati white rice, export of which has been banned with effect from 20 July 2023,” the statement added. HS codes for parboiled rice and basmati rice are reportedly being used to export non-basmati white rice.
Since the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is in charge of regulating Basmati rice exports and already has a web-based system in place for that purpose, the government has given APEDA instructions to put additional safeguards in place to prevent potential illegal exports of white non-basmati rice under the guise of Basmati rice.
The statement read: “Contracts for Basmati exports with a value of USD 1,200 per MT only and above should be registered for issue of Registration cum Allocation Certificate (RCAC).”
“Contracts with the value of below USD 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.
Additionally, it stated that a wide range in the contract price of the basmati being exported had been seen, with the lowest contract price being USD 359 per MT against a background of an average export price of USD 1214 per MT for the current month.
Additionally, it stated that a wide range in the contract price of the basmati being exported had been seen, with the lowest contract price being USD 359 per MT against a background of an average export price of USD 1214 per MT for the current month.
According to the statement, APEDA should speak with the trade to educate them about the issue and cooperate with them to prevent the use of this window for the export of non-basmati white rice.
