Basmati rice prices revive after Iranian worry

The price of basmati rice has begun reviving after having fallen on reports of Iran devaluing its currency, the rial, by 150 per cent.

Sources in the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) say they’d feared the import price of basmati for Iran would rise, as the trade is settled in rupees; Iran is a major buyer of basmati. Prices of the PUSA 1121 variety fell in a week from Rs 2,700 a quintal to Rs 2,550; these are now close to Rs 2,900 a quintal, said Vijay Setia, former head of AIREA.

He said exporters met officials in the embassy of Iran for a clarification and were told the devaluation would affect certain categories of imports but not rice. India exported 1.73 million tonnes (mt) of rice from April to September, worth Rs 9,055 crore. Export of rice to Iran this year is estimated at 3.5 mt.
 

BASMATI RICE EXPORTS
Year	In mn tonnes
2009-10	2.0
2010-11	2.4
2011-12	3.2
2012-13*	1.7
*April to September Source: All India Rice Exporters Association

 

Basmati prices have fared well this year, with the domestic market seeing a rise from an average of Rs 2,000 a quintal to Rs 2,900 a quintal for PUSA 1121.