In a significant step to boost export of basmati rice, a premier GI variety rice of India, the government has removed the floor price on export of basmati rice and onions, a move that will ensure good returns to farmers, ministry of commerce and industry said in a notification on Saturday.
Hailing it, Home Minister Amit Shah said the Narendra Modi government is increasing exports to ensure fair price to the farmers for their crops so that they can get maximum price for their crops.
Shah also said keeping the interests of farmers paramount, the government has taken three important decisions, including removing the minimum export price (MEP) of onions and Basmati rice.
“The Modi government has decided to remove the minimum export price (MEP) on onions and reduce the export duty from 40 per cent to 20 per cent. This will increase onion exports, which will increase the income of the onion producing farmers,” he wrote on social media in Hindi.
The home minister said the government has also decided to abolish the MEP on Basmati rice which will enable the farmers producing Basmati rice to earn more profits by exporting it.
“Also, the Modi government has decided to increase the import duty on crude palm, soya and sunflower oils from 12.5 per cent to 32.5 per cent and the duty on their refined oils from 13.75 per cent to 35.75 per cent. This will help India’s soyabean farmers get better prices for their crop and increase their income,” he said.
According to the ministry communication, it has been decided to remove the current minimum export price (MEP) of $950 MT for issuing registration-cum-allocation certificates (RCAC) for export of Basmati rice.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) will closely monitor export contracts to prevent any non-realistic pricing of basmati rice and ensure transparency in export practices, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The decision came in response to ongoing trade concerns and adequate domestic availability of rice.
A floor price of $1,200 per metric tonne (MT) was introduced in August last year as a temporary measure in response to rising domestic rice prices in the wake of tight domestic supply situation of rice and to curb any possible misclassification of non-basmati rice as basmati rice during exports, in view of the export prohibition on non-basmati white rice.
After discussions with the trade bodies and stakeholders, the government had then rationalised the floor price to $950 per MT in October 2023, amid concerns that higher prices were hurting outward shipments.
