India exports basmati rice to over 150 countries
Apart from cultivating paddy, farmers of many north Indian states also grow the aromatic, long-grained rice variety — basmati — during the kharif season. Till July 15, 2021, a total of 34 varieties of basmati were notified under the Seeds Act, 1966.
Under the Seeds Act, certified seeds can be produced only of notified varieties. Therefore, notification is compulsory for production of certified seeds. Farmers benefit from the notification of varieties because they get seeds of assured quality of notified varieties.
Notified basmati varieties
- Basmati 217
- Basmati 370
- Type 3 (Dehraduni Basmati)
- Punjab Basmati 1 (Bauni Basmati)
- Pusa Basmati 1
- Kasturi
- Haryana Basmati 1
- Mahi Sugandha
- Taraori Basmati (HBC 19/Karnal Local)
- Ranbir Basmati
- Basmati 386
- Improved Pusa Basmati 1 (Pusa 1460)
- Pusa Basmati 1121 (After amendment)
- Vallabh Basmati 22
- Pusa Basmati 6 (Pusa 1401)
- Punjab Basmati 2
- Basmati CSR 30 (after amendment)
- Malviya Basmati Dhan 10-9 (IET 21669)
- Vallabh Basmati 21 (IET 19493)
- Pusa Basmati 1509 (IET 21960)
- Basmati 564
- Vallabh Basmati 23
- Vallabh Basmati 24
- Pusa Basmati 1609
- Pant Basmati 1 (IET 21665)
- Pant Basmati 2 (IET 21953)
- Punjab Basmati 3
- Pusa Basmati 1637
- Pusa Basmati 1728
- Pusa Basmati 1718
- Punjab Basmati 4
- Punjab Basmati 5
- Haryana Basmati 2
- Pusa Basmati 1692
Areas of basmati cultivation
Basmati has been cultivated in India in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh.
Basmati rice exports
India is the leading exporter of the basmati rice in the world. Data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) reveals India exported 46.31 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of basmati rice in the financial year 2020-21 (April-March), valued at Rs 29,849.39 crore.
Top 10 biggest importers of Indian basmati rice in 2020-21 included Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United States of America, Kuwait, United Kingdom, Qatar and Oman. As per the APEDA data, India had exported basmati rice to 157 countries in 2020-21.
As per APEDA data, in the financial year 2021-22 (April 2021 to February 2022), India exported 41.52 LMT of basmati rice to the world worth Rs 26,850 crore.
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