Basmati Rice Earning

India is exporting Basmati Rice to various countries in the world. From a small beginning in 1978/79, when India exported 67,000 tonnes of basmati rice, earning modest foreign exchange of Rs 3200 million, an upward swing continued and there is no looking back since then. Superfine long grain (> 6.61 mm long), a characteristic pleasant aroma, extra elongation on cooking (> 1.8 times) and the soft texture of cooked rice are the typical features of basmati rice. Basmati 370 (Punjab Basmati), Karnal Local (Taroari Basmati), Type 3 (Dehradun Basmati) and Basmati 217 (Pakistan Basmati) are some of the traditional types that qualify for export among the hundreds of indigenous aromatic rices available in India.

The earnings from basmati export have been substantial :

• A decade ago, basmati rice was the only Indian product to have an export turnover of more than 500 million rupees (Rs).
• In the year 1997-98, there was foreign exchange earnings of Rs 16,749 million from basmati rice exports.
• The export earnings from Basmati Rice during 1998-99 alone constitutes nearly one-third (32.42%) of the total export earnings from rice.
• In the year 2000-2001, India exported 850,000 tons of basmati and earned Rs. 2165.96 crores.
• During 1991-92 export earning from the export of basmati rice was 499.18 crores, which increased to 2165.96 crores during 2000-01 registering an increase of 333.90 per cent over 1991-92 export earnings.