Ban on export of Basmati rice: Central govt always come up with anti farmers policies: Sukhbir Singh Badal
Kanwar Inder singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ September 16,2023
“I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately remove the ban on Minimum Export Price (MEP) of Basmati to protect the interests of the farmers of the Indian state producing rice” said shiromani akali dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Badal said that “the central govt always come up with anti farmers policies. Every time our farmers stand to profit from an increase in global rice prices, the Centre bans its export.”
Calling it discriminatory, Badal added that “now, when the farmers stand to benefit due to the high export price of rice, export of this commodity has been banned. The prices of Basmati at international market grow manifold. I request PM Modi to remove all restrictions on the export of Basmati.”
As per reports , with the recent export curbs imposed by the Central Government on Basmati rice has dealt a heavy blow to the farmers and traders in rice producing Indian states and eventually favouring Pakistan’s export industry. Even at Istanbul Food Festival, no basmati from India was purchased, whereas Pakistan got benefit of this
Sukhbir Badal was taking to media after condoling the Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwala, spiritual leader whose mother had died few days ago.
The central government has fixed the minimum export price of basmati at $1,200 per tonne, which has adversely affected the domestic price of the crop.
As per available information, on August 25, the Centre imposed a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of US$1200 per Metric Tonne (MT) on basmati rice. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been told to limit the issue of registration-cum-allocation certificate, mandatory for every transaction, only to shipments contracted above the floor price.
As per the directive, the floor price restriction for exports is to “remain effective till 15.10.2023 and the situation reviewed in the first week of October 2023”. The period from mid-September to mid-October is considered to be the peak marketing season for the 90-100 days’ basmati varieties.
