Rice exporters worried over Iran move

Rice exporters in the region are worried over the fallout of the reports in media about the restriction on rice exports put up by Iran on India.

Talking to Business Standard, All India Rice Exporters’ Association President Vijay Setia said the reports about the contaminated rice of certain brands exported to Iran had not been confirmed and the wrong information disseminated in the country could effect the farmers.

A senior scientist from the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) said the presence of cadmium, arsenic and other heavy metals in rice from the country had been reported in Iran but that had not been proven scientifically.

He added that the probability of presence of heavy metals in basmati rice grown in the Indo-Gangetic belt (Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh) was bleak as this could be found in the areas irrigated by the tail-end of the river.

Since these parts fall in the middle course of the river, the contamination does not happen.

Moreover, water content in the cereals is about 10-12 per cent which makes the crop more resistant to heavy metals.

A senior official from the Agriculture and Process Food Products Exports Development told Business Standard that no sample had been tested and the rejection of a certain brand might be the result of the skewed demand and supply in the export market.

There are also apprehensions, he added that a good crop of rice in Iran had created glut in the market and prevented it from adding stock from other countries.

Arvinder Singh, director, Amar Singh Chawal Wala, Amritsar, which has Lal Quila Rice as its flagship brand , said there had been a good crop of basmati this year in the country as well as Iran.

The insistence of the local producers in Iran to lift their crop has resulted in discouraging Indian exporters by floating such reports.

He added that under the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT), a country cannot dishonour its import commitment until the quality is sub-standard.

India has been exporting rice to Iran for the past ten years and there has been no instance of any incidence of contamination, he added.

A senior official at Punjab Agriculture University said in such a situation, farmers got exploited at the hands of middlemen. The negative sentiments that the export demand has dwindled could help the middlemen book supernormal profits.

There are about 300 rice mills in the country exporting 1 million tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes of basmati rice to Iran through certified rice exporters.