TAD NewsDesk, Kolkata: South Asians in Belgium and Netherlands are stocking up on basmati rise marking a rise in the sales. This has gained profit for the farmers in Punjab and Haryana amidst the burning protests.
India’s exports of basmati rice to Belgium have increased by 60% in the first eight months of the current financial year, while imports by the Netherlands have almost doubled.
Rising demand has given the farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana to receive a better output in terms of price. The common variety of basmati rice, 1121 Pusa, which is mostly exported, has been fetching a 15% higher price at the farmgate from November.
In Europe, the consumers have got accustomed and have started to favour the aromatic basmati variety to prepare traditional dishes like sushi, risotto or paella.
Gurnam Arora, joint managing director at Kohinoor Foods told the media agency, Economic Times
“Europe is a big market for us. This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, there has been a lot of panic buying by the European market. South East Asian people residing in these countries have bought good quantities of basmati rice for home consumption.”
With the impact and fear of the rising new Coronavirus strain in Europe, there is a chance of a complete lockdown again as has been already imposed in U.K. Hence, people are already stocking up on basmati rice.
Gautam Miglani, the owner of Haryana-based LRNK, a leading exporter of basmati rice, said Europe has emerged as a major market as exports to Iran slowed down. In the first eight months of FY21, exports to Iran fell 16%.
Vinod Kaul, executive director of the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) said,
“Payments from Iran against basmati rice consignments are yet to come. According to industry people, nearly Rs 1,500 crore payment is due from Iranian importers.”
India’s basmati rice exports climbed 29% to 3.05 million metric tonnes in the first eight months of this financial year. Kaul said Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iraq have bought good quantities of rice.
Moreover, basmati rice also had an important sale and impact on the economy. India produced 7.5 million tonnes of basmati in In 2019-20, of which 61% was exported, earning the country Rs 31,025 crore, according to the commerce and industry ministry.
Hence, even with the rising protests in Delhi, the farmers are gaining a share of profit in basmati rice in the West.
Source: The Economic Times
