Basmati Rice
New Delhi: In response to ongoing trade concerns and adequate domestic availability of rice, and to boost the export of basmati rice, a premier GI variety rice of India, the Government of India today completely removed the floor price on the 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.
It may be recalled that a floor price of $1,200 per metric ton (MT) was introduced in August 2023 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.
Following representations from trade bodies and stakeholders, the government then rationalized the floor price to $950 per MT in October 2023.
The government claims the price of onions has declined
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution claimed that the Centre’s initiative of retail selling of onion at a subsidised rate was now reflecting a decline in onion price. The Ministry said the Department of Consumer Affairs is adopting bulk sales strategies to ensure the availability of onions to consumers at an affordable price.
The retail sale of onion, at the subsidised rate of Rs. 35 per kg, was rolled out with the flagging off of mobile vans on September 5, 2024. The retail disposal started through outlets and mobile vans of the National Co-operative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.(NAFED)in major consumption hubs, such as Delhi and Mumbai, and was subsequently extended to other important locations like Chennai, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati etc.
The Ministry claimed because of this initiative, onion prices dropped from Rs. 60 to Rs. 55 per kg in Delhi; from Rs 61 to 56 per kg in Mumbai; and from Rs. 65 to Rs. 58 in Chennai between September 5, 2024, and September 13, 2024.
– global bihari bureau
Basmati rice image by Markus Winkler from Pixabay
Image of onions by Matthias Böckel from Pixabay
