India rice exporters worried over Iran ban

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 a local newspaper, 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.