The All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) is the apex body for Indian rice exporters. It has over 130 members who account for 90% of India's rice exports. In 2013-14, India exported 10.5 million tonnes of rice worth over Rs 42,669 crore. The document discusses the basmati rice industry in India, including major growing regions, production levels, export markets, and varieties. It notes that the area under basmati rice cultivation in India has decreased in recent years while production has increased. India remains the world's largest basmati rice exporter, with exports worth Rs 29,299.95 crore in 2013-14.

1. Basmati Rice: Past, Present &
Future
1
V.P. Singh
Director-(Crop & Research)

2. The All India Rice Exporters Association
(AIREA)
• The All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) is the Apex body
of Indian Rice Exporters in India. Established in 1989, AIREA is
recognized by the Government of India and works closely with
the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture and
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority (APEDA).
• We have over 130 accredited members who together account for
90% of India's rice exports. In 2013-14, India exported 10.5
Million tonnes worth over Rs 42,669 Crore ($ 6.6 Billion) and
retained its leading position in the world rice market.
• Although AIREA’s mandate is to represent the Indian rice industry,
we have over the years made a conscious effort to bridge the gap
between farmers, science and industry – and have adopted the
motto “Dhan, Kisan, Vigyaan aur Udyog”. 2

3. INTERFACE MEETING OF ICAR, APEDA
AND AIREA
• AIREA has organized an interactive meeting with IARI, APEDA and AIREA
on 23rd April, 2012 at IARI, Pusa. Some salient information of the meeting
are:-
• Pusa Basmati 1509 is a modified version of Pusa Basmati 1121. It matures
25 days earlier permitting it to be sown late will require less irrigation. It
will be released as a notified Basmati variety.
• The Rice Breeding Section is working on introducing disease, insect and
salinity resistance in both Pusa basmati 1121 and Pusa Basmati 1509.
These resistant Pusa Basmati varieties will reduce use of pesticides,
therefore reduce residue problem.
• The Director of IARI stated that all measures will be taken to see that there
is no GMO research on Basmati. Also no testing of any GMO will be done
in Basmati growing area.
• Exporters were requested to keep the interests of farmers also in mind. If
farmers do not get a good price, they may stop cultivating Basmati.

4. WORLD RICE TRADE
• The world rice market is extremely thin
with less than 7% of total production
being traded, yet has crossed the 35
million tonnes mark in 2013.
• The major players, both exporters and
importers, are developing countries.
Five countries control the bulk of global
rice exports namely China, US, Vietnam,
Thailand and India.
• Ordinary indica, long grain, rice varieties
are the most widely traded, accounting
for 75 percent of international trade
flows in the early 2000s, followed by
japonica, medium grain rice and
aromatic (Basmati and fragrant) rice,
each accounting for 12 percent of trade.
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
GLOBAL RICE PRODUCERS
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
TOP RICE EXPORTERS
India Thailand Vietnam Pakistan United
States
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
TOP RICE IMPORTERS
China Nigeria Iran EU Cote
d'Ivoire
Iraq Saudi
Arabia
*Qty in‘000
Tonnes
India Rice Exporters Association 4

5. WORLD SHARE OF INDIAN RICE EXPORTS
NON-BASMATI
All India Rice Exporters Association 5
Middle East
EU
US
East Africa
East Asia (oceania)
CIS
ASEAN
BASMATI
77.5%
Africa
Middle East
EU
South Asia
ASEAN
71.5%

6. The Basmati Bowl of India

7. Basmati Growing Districts
States Districts
J&K Kathua , Jammu & Samba
Himachal Pradesh Entire State
Punjab Entire State
Haryana Entire State
Delhi Entire State
Uttarakhand Udham Singh Nagar &
Haridwar
Western U.P 27 Districts

8. Total rice area - 44 mha
 Total Avg rice production – 104 mt
Total Basmati rice area – 1.6 mha
 Basmati rice production - 7.0 mt
 Basmati rice export - 4.0 mt
 Domestic consumption - 2.8 mt
 Forex earning - US $ 4.6 billion (Rs 28,189
crores)
Salient Features

9. 1. Stable trade environment: The most positive signal to
the world market, Indian farmers and industry is that
no ban, intervention or restrictions will be imposed.
Permanently opening up exports of agricultural
products
2. Import tariffs on rice should be kept as high as
possible- imperative to insulate Indian farmers,
industry and consumers from volatility in international
prices which is partly structural due to high agricultural
subsidies in developed nations such as America and EU
countries.
9
POLICY AND CHALLENGES

10. • Bilateral agreements allowing import of rice
at cheaper rates from countries where we
can push for a market for Indian rice.
3. India must take a strong stand that parameters
set by accredited bodies must be recognized
globally.
• India should decide and educate to other
countries what the definition of Basmati is
and which varieties come under it.

11. All India Rice Exporters Association
11
Geographical Indication (GI)
BENEFITS
A GI certificate would mean that only the rice
grown in parts of India and Pakistan would qualify
to be called as `Basmati' thus conferring legal
protection to the product and safeguarding against
its unauthorized use by other countries or
producers, besides eliminating unfair competition
for the benefit of genuine producers and
consumers.
Cont.

12. International markets seek special, exotic Indian
goods and these fetch premium prices.
Basmati being a premium Indian product, legal
protection will boost Basmati exports.
Would do wonders for marketing & branding
which is key to Basmati market expansion
Will promote economic prosperity of Basmati
farmers, millers, traders & exporters.

13. WITHOUT GI FOR BASMATI…
Promote theft of Indian biodiversity,
intellectual, scientific and cultural heritage.
Most unfair to Indian farmers who have
cultivated Basmati for centuries.
Authentic Basmati from India will stop
fetching premium prices that it currently
enjoys

14. Indian exporters will be vulnerable to losing their
market. Eg RiceTec patent issue. Other countries will be
free to develop varieties of Basmati which will not be
true Basmati as they are being bred under different
agro-climatic conditions. Economic cost of such rice
could be cheaper in other parts of the world and India
will not be able to compete.
Others will randomly use “Basmati” for any fragrant
rice grown outside the GI zone.
Global consumers will be cheated as authentic
Basmati is only grown in the GI zone

15. STATE
Basmati Area Year Wise
Area-’000 ha
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
AREA AREA AREA AREA AREA
Punjab 792.67 738.92 700.66 573.12 590.01
Haryana 610.73 781.40 705.08 594.10 711.11
Uttar Pradesh 254.29 377.79 428.30 366.55 318.75
Uttarakhand 17.52 29.88 23.50 16.90 18.30
J&k 32.92 33.00 38.00 36.90 37.28
Himachal
Pradesh ‒ 5.95 14.20 2.85 1.00
Delhi 1.34 1.45 1.50 1.50 ‒
Total 1709.47 1968.39 1911.24 1591.92 1676.45

16. STATE
Basmati Production Year Wise
Prod-’000 t
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Production Production Production Production Production
Punjab 3164.71 2831.26 2832.12 2282.15 2292.75
Haryana 2432.48 2751.63 2676.77 2261.26 2898.98
Uttar Pradesh 986.44 1442.77 2066.23 1428.48 1270.09
Uttarakhand 58.26 97.06 80.13 53.90 54.16
J&k 79.45 79.70 94.90 96.13 92.66
Himachal
Pradesh ‒ 10.32 42.80 5.70 3.40
Delhi 5.41 4.93 6.00 6.00 ‒
Total 6726.75 7217.67 7798.95 6133.62 6612.04

17. Top Importers Of Basmati
2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Country Qty Value Qty Value Qty Value
Iran 6,14,922.16 2,843.21 10,82,216.47 6,463.50 14,40,654.37 10,975.71
Saudi Arabia 7,21,245.48 3,380.88 6,81,238.69 3,659.08 8,26,289.81 6,717.06
Iraq 1,51,961.25 672.87 2,04,261.89 1,076.67 2,19,634.00 1,599.72
Kuwait 1,99,869.77 1,362.92 1,63,317.07 1,059.68 1,75,444.79 1,513.06
United Arab
Emirates 7,28,823.29 3,432.79 2,34,679.47 1,311.20 1,49,041.96 1,189.22
Yemen Republc 92,112.14 402.91 1,72,348.74 878.19 1,46,839.58 1,107.79
United States 91,816.94 503.88 91,546.37 561.69 1,03,377.64 870.45
United Kingdom 1,41,666.21 629.46 1,92,433.35 849.98 1,18,888.17 785.85
Jordan 52,928.98 242.46 89,645.35 441.37 79,077.81 624.09
Oman 18,292.27 94.33 40,101.59 244.36 43,141.93 355.46

18. NOTIFIED BASMATI VARIETIES
Variety Notification No. & Date
Basmati 217 4045 – 24.09.1969
361 (E) – 30.06.1973
Basmati 370 361 (E) – 30.06.1973
786 – 02.02.1976
Type 3 (Dehraduni Basmati) 13 – 19.12.1978
Punjab Basmati 1 (Bauni Basmati) 596 (E) - 13.08.1984
Pusa Basmati 1 (IET 10364) 615 (E) - 06.11.1989
Kasturi (IET 8580) 615 (E) - 06.11.1989
Haryana Basmati 1 793 (E) - 22.11.1991
Cont.

19. NOTIFIED BASMATI VARIETIES
Variety Notification No. & Date
Mahi Sugandha 408 (E) - 04.05.1995
Taraori Basmati (HBC 19 or Karnal
Local)
1(E) – 01.01.1996
Ranbir Basmati 1 (E) - 01.01.1996
Basmati 386 647 (E) – 09.09.1997
Improved Pusa Basmati 1 (Pusa 1460) 1178 (E) – 20.07.2007
Pusa Basmati 1121 (IET 18004)
After amendment
1566 (E) – 05.11.2005
2547 (E) - 29.10.2008
Vallabh Basmati 22 2187 (E) – 27.08.2009
Cont.

20. NOTIFIED BASMATI VARIETIES
Variety Notification No. & Date
Pusa Basmati 6 (Pusa 1401) (IET
18005)
733 (E) – 01.04.2010
Punjab Basmati 2 1708 (E) – 26.07.2012
Basmati CSR 30
After amendment
1134(E) – 25.11.2001
2126 (E) – 10.09.2012
Pusa Basmati 1509 (IET 21960) S.O. 2815 (E) – 19.09.2013
Malviya Basmati Dhan 10-9 (IET
21669)
S.O. 2815 (E) – 19.09.2013
Vallabh Basmati 21 (IET 19493) S.O. 2815 (E) – 19.09.2013

21. Basmati Exports- Quantity
Qty-Million MT
0.77
1.16 1.16
1.04
1.18
1.55
2.01
2.37
3.17
3.45
3.75
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Qty
Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S)

22. Basmati Export-Value
Value-Rs Crore
1993.04
2823.89 3043.09 2792.8
4344.58
9477.02
10889.13 11354.63
15449.59
19409.39
29299.95
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Value
Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S)

23. Non Basmati - Quantity
Qty- Million MT
2.64
3.61
2.92
3.7
5.28
0.93
0.13 0.1
3.99
6.68
7.13
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Qty
Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S)

24. Non Basmati-Value
Value-Rs Crore
2174.79
3945.01
3178.16
4243.07
7409.79
1687.37
365.29 231.28
8659.12
14448.8
17749.96
20000
18000
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Value
Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S)

25. No. of Countries Rice Exported
Year Basmati Non Basmati
2003-04 93 96
2004-05 99 97
2005-06 106 106
2006-07 107 108
2007-08 106 122
2008-09 102 68
2009-10 106 58
2010-11 108 53
2011-12 124 129
2012-13 130 145
2013-14 133 140
Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S)

26. AIREA: SOME ACHIEVEMENTS
 Import Tolerance of 3ppm for Tricyclazole is
registered in USA
 Removal of Ban on Non-Basmati export
 Removal of State Levies
 Revised and Eventually Removed MEP for Basmati
– from $900 to $700 per tonne and eventually 0.
 AIREA submitted and subsequently defended its
solicited MSP recommendation for Rice to CACP
(Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices under
the Union Minister of Agriculture)
Cont.

27.  Interacted with Agriculture ministry re: 20
notified varieties
 Other Pesticide MRLs reviewed in India
and efforts are ongoing in USA for their
acceptance
 BEDF training programmes
 Iran issue - pushed for LC/rupee payment
mechanism and import duty revision
 Press conferences re: pesticide issue
 Problems with customs
 EIC health certificate fee issue taken up
and subsequently lowered

28. AIREA: SOME ACHIEVEMENTS
 FSSAI - organised a training programme for
members on food security guidelines
 Preparing a Policy Paper on long-term prospects for
Indian rice Industry to be presented to Govt of
India.
 Issue of export norms taken up with Mauritius
 Visit of Mexican Press delegation to AIREA office
 International Food and Trade Shows – China,
France, Dubai
Cont.

29.  Organized a Chef’s Conference
 Phasing out of PP Bags
 Harmonizing Basmati Rice Varieties &
Standards
 NPPO Registration – regular updates and
advisory to members on requirements.
Successfully pushed China to open up rice
imports from India.
 Established direct communication channel
with Embassies regarding Rice Trade
 30+ new members have joined AIREA

30. MAJOR POLICY ISSUES HANDLED
• EIC health certificate, lowered price
• Interacted with Agriculture ministry: 20
notified varieties
• Removal of MEP for rice
• Revision of Indian MRL
• Recommended MSP to CACP, solicited by
Govt of India
Cont.

31. •Reduction and removal of State levies and
other taxes
•Iran issue - pushed for LC/rupee payment
mechanism and import duty revision
•Interacted with DGFT to stop export of
Basmati paddy in husk
•Currently working on a Policy paper to be
presented to GoI re: medium to long-term
prospects and demands of rice industry